Commonwealth Games 2014

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with organisers of the London 2012 Olympics on the sharing of advice to ensure the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014 are a success.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office is in regular and active contact with all the departments with responsibilities for the organisation of the London 2012 Olympics to ensure that advice and expertise are shared with the organisers of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth games. The Secretary of State for Scotland, the right hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Michael Moore), will be meeting with Lord Coe in the near future to discuss further.

Exports: Scotland

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps his Department is taking to further support the relationship between Scottish exporters and markets in the Middle East and North Africa.

David Mundell: The Government is committed to supporting UK businesses, including from Scotland, around the world. The Secretary of State for Scotland, the right hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Michael Moore), and I have direct engagement with many Scottish companies with investments around the world. Brian Wilson, chairman of Harris Tweed Hebrides, has been appointed a UK Business Ambassador with special focus on Scotland. He is currently carrying out a review of Scottish exporting and the support provided by the UK and Scottish Governments.

Parents

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what measures of the extent of parental conflict the Government currently uses.

Edward Timpson: holding answer 22 November 2012
	The Social Justice Outcomes Framework, which was announced on 31 October, includes an indicator of family stability and parental relationship quality. The family is the first and most important building block in a child's life, and supporting vulnerable families is crucial to the Government's strategy for fighting poverty. That is why the Government has committed £30 million to fund relationship support over the current spending review period (2011 to 2015).

Pupils: Foreign Nationals

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children born outside the UK are enrolled in UK schools.

David Laws: holding answer 22 November 2012
	It is not possible to answer this question directly with the available data. The School Census in England does not collect data on pupils' country of birth.
	However, it is possible to use the Labour Force Survey (LFS) to make an estimate of the number of children of compulsory school-age born outside the UK. Of the 7.8 million children aged five to 15 years in the UK, 0.5 million (6.3%) were born outside the UK(1).
	It is not possible to use the LFS to analyse how many of these children are enrolled in UK schools.
	The 2011 ONS Census included questions on citizenship, the results of which should be available in 2013. This will provide further information on the number of school-age children born outside the UK, although again it will not indicate whether they are being educated in UK schools.
	The Government is committed to ensuring that all children are able to access the education services they need, regardless of their nationality.
	(1 )Based on LFS analysis of the four pooled quarters from quarter four 2011 to quarter three 2012

Equal Pay

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what steps she is taking to ensure employers in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) England implement equal pay for women.

Jo Swinson: The Government is taking a range of steps, aimed at employers and employees, to ensure pay equality and tackle sex discrimination.
	We have launched a voluntary initiative to promote transparency on gender equality. Think, Act, Report asks private and voluntary sector employers to tackle barriers for women at work by taking a step by step approach to greater transparency on pay and other workplace issues. On 14 November, government published a progress report which showed that over a million employees are working in organisations signed up to this initiative.
	Through the Employment and Regulatory Reform Bill we are introducing a power for Ministers to make regulations at a later date to require employment tribunals to order equal pay audits where an employer has been found to have breached equal pay laws.
	Finally, we are making it easier for SMEs and micro businesses to get good quality advice and support on equality and employment related matters through a series of regional events, including in St Helens on 23 January 2013. Short guides are also available on the Government Equalities Office website which explain the law for businesses and employees clearly.

Canada

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with his Canadian counterpart on culling deer and elk at BATUS Canada.

Andrew Robathan: The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), has had no discussions with his Canadian counterpart on culling deer and elk at British Army Training Unit Suffield in Canada. This is a sovereign issue for the Canadian Government.

Crime Prevention: Education

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will discuss with the Secretary of State for Education measures to educate teenage boys about relationships with women in order to avoid violence against women in later years.

Jeremy Browne: Government Departments regularly discuss further measures to progress our strategy to end violence against women and girls. The Government is committed to challenging attitudes which foster violence against women and girls.
	Last year we ran two national campaigns which challenged teenager's attitudes to relationship abuse and rape. Due to their success we will be re-running the Rape Prevention Campaign from 1 December 2012.

Cybercrime

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the nature and frequency of cyber-attacks against her Department's website during 2012; what security breaches occurred; what loss of service users experienced in each case; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: Since April 2012, the Home Office website has been the subject of a number of 'denial of service' attacks, which seek to make the website unavailable by bombarding it with traffic.
	Website defences have been closely monitored and improved where necessary, but there have been some occasions where the website has become unavailable. This has usually been for just a few minutes, but a sustained attack over 7 and 8 April led to the website being difficult to access for a number of hours.
	The Home Office website contains information about Home Office policy and corporate information such as its business plan. No transactions with members of the public are conducted through the site. Most of the attacks occurred outside normal working hours when the use of the site is low so the impact on users is likely to have been limited. The site was not hacked and no other systems were affected. At no point was there any risk to any personal or other secure information held on Home Office IT systems.

Prostitution

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding her Department has allocated to proactively assisting men and women to exit prostitution by recipient organisation in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jeremy Browne: The Government is committed to tackling the harm and exploitation associated with prostitution. The cross-government Action Plan to end Violence Against Women and Girls sets out our commitment to ensure that those involved in prostitution are protected from violence, free from exploitation and, where appropriate, given help to leave.
	The Home Office does not directly fund organisations to proactively assist men and women to exit prostitution. Local agencies are in the best position to make an assessment of the characteristics and issues of prostitution in their local area. To empower them to do so and to respond effectively, in October 2011 the Home Office published a review of effective practice in terms of: policing, exiting, minimising harm and general multi-agency working. Our review highlighted for local areas how to best support those who wish to exit prostitution.

Biofuels

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what factors are taken into consideration in assessing the total carbon emissions of wood burning for biomass energy.

Gregory Barker: The Government carried out an assessment of the total carbon emissions of wood combustion for biomass energy to inform its UK Bioenergy Strategy published on 26 April 2012:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/meeting_energy/bioenergy/strategy/strategy.aspx
	The factors taken into consideration include:
	The GHG emissions from carbon stock changes in forests
	The quantity of harvested carbon utilised (and hence sequestered) in wood products
	The GHG emissions associated with forest operations
	The GHG emissions associated with wood harvesting and extraction
	The GHG emissions associated with wood transport
	The GHG emissions associated with wood processing
	The GHG emissions associated with disposal of harvested wood products at end-of-life.

Carbon Emissions

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had on the Final Investment Decisions enabling process; what mechanisms have been put in place to ensure transparency in these negotiations; and what role the Panel of Technical Experts will have in the process.

John Hayes: A number of developers (including new nuclear, renewables, and early stage carbon capture and storage developers) have expressed interest in the Final Investment Decisions (FID) enabling process. The Government has entered into dialogue with NNB Generation Company Ltd through this process. These discussions are ongoing, and no offers of comfort have been made.
	The Government is committed to transparency over the terms of any investment instruments offered through the FID-enabling process. The Energy and Climate Change Select Committee's report on pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Energy Bill made recommendations on this issue and our full response will be included in the overarching response to the Committee's recommendations, including the question of any role for independent experts.

Climate Change

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of the policies of (a) China, (b) India, (c) South Africa and (d) Brazil on climate change; and what assessment he has made of the potential effects of those policies on the UK's international commitments.

Gregory Barker: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Beverley and Holderness (Mr Stuart), on 13 November 2012, Official Report, column 118W.
	India has an international commitment to reduce the emissions intensity of its economy by 20% to 25% by 2020 compared to business as usual levels. We estimate that national policies from “Missions” under the June 2008 National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) will deliver emissions savings that would more than meet this target by 2020. In the 2011 UNFCCC mitigation workshops, India estimated that its National Mission for Enhancing Energy Efficiency should produce savings or 25 MT CO2 by 2015; and that actions currently under way or planned—the National Solar mission, Nuclear Energy, Renewable Energy, and Green India mission—would save 275 MT CO2 each year by 2020. Furthermore, India has brought in strong pro-market measures to deliver its ambitious solar energy goals of installing 20 GW of solar capacity by 2022, including 2 GW off-grid solar.
	South Africa has made international pledges that would deliver a deviation of 34% by 2020 and 42% by 2025 from business as usual levels, which will require policies to reduce the energy intensiveness of its industrial base and to improve its energy efficiency. Challenges with South Africa’s infrastructure and the ongoing poverty gap have meant that limited progress has been made towards the pledged targets. However, South Africa has identified the need to improve the harmonisation of policy, and the National Climate Response White Paper approved by Cabinet on 14 October 2011 seeks to start a process to mainstream climate change into government policy, including the introduction of carbon budgets on various sectors. The paper formalizes the range for peaking by 2020 to 2025, with a ceiling on 614 MT CO2 (currently SA emissions are around 540 MT CO2, essentially placing a cap on emissions). A major 20-year electricity plan IRP2010 has been issued, aiming for 17,800 MW of renewable energy by 2030, which equates to 42% of all new plants coming on stream over this period, and is up for review in 2013.
	(d) Brazil has committed to reduce its emissions by 36% to 39% on BAU in 2020 which equates to the equivalent of 1.2 GT in avoided emissions based on the Brazilian Government’s figures. In July 2012 the Brazil Government’s update confirmed that it is already halfway to achieving the 36% target. Most of Brazil’s reductions will come from tackling emissions in the forestry sector. This reflects the profile of its emissions: historically, nearly three-quarters have come from this sector. Brazil has reduced deforestation by 77% over the past seven years and has stated that it is on track to meet its target of reducing deforestation in the Amazon to 20% of the historical average by 2020. These reductions have resulted in an estimated 34% reduction in emissions as a whole since 2005.
	I am encouraged by the action being taken in many countries, but if we are to meet the global target of limited temperature increases to below 2ºC above pre-industrial levels then it will be important for all countries to take further action. That is why a global legally binding agreement is needed, to ensure that all countries undertake their fair share. My Department, and the rest of the Government are playing their parts in working with these countries to negotiate a new agreement that will come into force in 2020. In addition, we need to encourage those countries yet to make an emissions reduction pledge to do so, and for countries that have made pledges to deliver them and at their top end. For the EU that means that the UK will continue to press for the EU to increase its 2020 target to a 30% reduction from 1990 levels.

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change by what date he expects to agree a strike price with EDF and Centrica for Hinkley Point C; and by what date he expects to publish (a) the strike price and (b) the associated contract terms.

John Hayes: The Government has entered into dialogue with NNB Generation Company Ltd regarding potential transitional arrangements ahead of the implementation of electricity market reform (EMR) for NNB’s Hinkley Point C project on the basis set out in the Technical Update on electricity market reform published in December 2011. These discussions are ongoing, and it is not possible to say when they may conclude. If agreement is reached on a contract for difference for Hinkley Point C, there will be transparency over the terms offered (including the strike price).

Members: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Walsall North of 15 October 2012 on behalf of a constituent.

Gregory Barker: The response to this letter of 15 October 2012 to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), was signed by me on 21 November 2012. I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member’s letter.

Nuclear Power

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions his Department has had with EU state aid officials concerning (a)  a nuclear power strike price, (b) the auctioning of nuclear power contracts for difference and (c) the proportion of electricity supplied that is underwritten by contracts for difference.

John Hayes: State aid issues are a bilateral matter between the Government and the European Commission. The Government is in discussion with the Commission as to the application of the state aid rules in this context and detailed accounts of the content of discussions are not normally published. In common with other similar situations, such discussions cover whether or not state aid may be present, and if there is state aid, whether it is approvable under the treaty.
	If the Government makes a formal notification of its arrangements, we expect the Commission to make a decision as soon as possible consistent with the proper exercise of its responsibilities. Such Commission decisions are published and include an explanation of how the decision has been reached.

Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what consideration he has given to the consequences for devolved tribunals in (a) Scotland and (b) Wales of the proposed abolition of the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council.

Helen Grant: The Government recognises that the progress that has been made in UK-wide tribunals since 2007 has not been fully replicated in those tribunals that deal with devolved matters. The Ministry of Justice is working with officials in the Scottish and Welsh Administrations to ensure that their programmes of tribunal reform continue to receive appropriate support following the proposed abolition of the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council. Once agreed, these proposed arrangements will be detailed when the Order is laid in Parliament.

Planning Permission: Appeals

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many applications for statutory appeals in respect of planning and related cases were made in each of the last 10 years; and how many subsequent appeals determined by the court were (a) allowed, (b) dismissed and (c) withdrawn.

Jeremy Wright: The following data provides figures for Statutory Appeals made under section 289 of the Town and County Planning Act of 1990 relating to enforcement notice appeals and appeals under section 288 of the same act relating to challenges to a planning decision.
	
		
			 Administrative Court Office—Judicial Review Town and Country Planning 
			 Applications received in the Administrative Court Office 
			 Town and Country Planning Act 1990 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 Section 288 200 171 139 180 142 154 135 124 188 138 153 102 97 121 
			 Section 289 66 48 53 37 39 44 37 34 50 63 57 67 59 65 
			 Grand total 266 219 192 217 181 198 172 158 238 201 210 169 156 186 
		
	
	
		
			 Applications granted permission to proceed to a full hearing 
			 Town and Country Planning Act 1990 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 Section 289 30 35 34 22 22 19 15 16 16 15 25 22 12 26 
		
	
	
		
			 Substantive hearings allowed 
			 Town and Country Planning Act 1990 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 Section 288 62 53 71 38 33 26 22 11 7 11 18 21 9 9 
			 Section 289 17 16 21 13 5 7 6 4 5 4 4 7 5 3 
			 Grand total 79 69 92 51 38 33 28 15 12 15 22 28 14 12 
		
	
	
		
			 Cases determined by court (including cases determined by consent without a substantive hearing) 
			 Town and Country Planning Act 1990 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 Section 288 134 154 157 98 129 120 108 68 78 91 107 137 65 50 
			 Section 289 39 52 49 41 32 37 37 17 36 32 51 51 48 55 
			 Grand total 173 206 206 139 161 157 145 85 114 123 158 188 113 105

Airports

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to encourage the growth of regional airports.

Simon Burns: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Transport.
	On 12 July 2012, the Department for Transport published a draft Aviation Policy Framework setting out the importance of aviation to the UK economy and the Government's proposals on how aviation can grow and deliver for the economy while meeting its noise, climate change and habitat obligations. The Government aims to adopt the final Aviation Policy Framework next spring. As part of the document, we also announced a package of short-term measures to make the best use of existing airport capacity, encourage investment at our airports and improve surface access provision to the benefit of passengers and the wider economy.

Charity Research Support Fund

Robert Buckland: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will continue the charity research support fund until the next General Election.

David Willetts: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	The Government recognises the significant contribution made by charitable funders of research. The charity support element of Quality Related research funding, provided by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), recognises the public benefit arising from research funded by charities. HEFCE has been asked, as part of the science and research allocation for the spending review period 2011-15, to protect support for institutions leveraging funding from external sources, such as the charitable and business sectors. It will be for the HEFCE Board to determine the levels of funding to deploy each year on this from within its overall research allocation.

Child Benefit

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate HM Revenue and Customs has made of the number of higher tax rate paying households affected by changes to child benefit from January 2013 in (a) St Helens South and Whiston constituency, (b) the North West, (c) England and (d) the UK.

David Gauke: HMRC has made the following estimates of the number of families affected by the high income child benefit charge in 2012-13.
	(a) For the St Helens South and Whiston constituency information is not available as the survey data used to estimate the number of families affected are not designed to produce outputs at the constituency level.
	(b) In the north-west around 75,000 families will be affected by the charge.
	(c) In England around 980,000 families will be affected by the charge.
	(d) In the UK around 1.1 million families will be affected by the charge.
	In a period when the Government is having to reduce welfare spending, it is not possible to justify the 840,000 families in the north-west, 5.7 million families in England and 6.9 million families in the UK with incomes below the threshold subsidising the child benefit for the wealthiest 15% of families in society.

Double Taxation

Mike Freer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of claims for double taxation relief accepted by HM Revenue and Customs which were made under schemes that were later closed down by the application of the provisions of section 58 of the Finance Act 2008.

David Gauke: UK residents are taxable on their worldwide income wherever it arises, including situations where it arises by way of foreign partnerships. Section 58 of Finance Act 2008 was enacted to help put that beyond doubt and in so doing, made clear that a wholly artificial tax avoidance scheme involving a foreign partnership comprised of foreign trustees did not work.
	HMRC is aware that inquiries into fewer than five scheme users who used the scheme for several years had a closure notice issued with no amendment. The closure notices were issued in error and related to only one of the years under inquiry in each case. I am unable to give a more precise figure as it would breach HMRC's duty of confidentiality. HMRC is unaware of any other cases where a scheme-user's claim to double tax relief was investigated and then a closure notice was issued which referred to the scheme and made no amendment.

Energy

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will commission an independent assessment of all direct and indirect subsidies in the UK energy sector; if he will request the National Audit Office to verify that assessment; and if he will make a statement.

Sajid Javid: The Government has no plans at this time to commission such an assessment.

Income Tax: Age Allowances

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) average and (b) maximum tax liability will be for those people brought into income tax as a result of changes to the age-related income tax personal allowance from 2013-14.

David Gauke: The Government remains committed to supporting pensioners and has introduced a triple guarantee for the basic state pension ensuring it will increase each year by the highest of earnings, prices or 2.5%. From April 2012, the basic state pension increased by £5.30, the biggest cash increase ever. The Government has also protected other key pensioner benefits.
	The 2012 Budget announced that from 2013-14, age-related allowances will:
	(a) be frozen at their 2012-13 levels until they align with the personal allowance; and
	(b) that they will no longer be available, except to those born on or before 5 April 1948 with the higher age-related-allowance available only to those born before 5 April 1938.
	These changes will simplify the personal allowance system and reduce the number of pensioners in self assessment.
	The ‘Overview of Tax Legislation and Rates' published alongside Budget 2012 states that, in 2013-14, an estimated 4.41 million individuals will be affected by these changes compared with RPI indexation of age-related allowances and no change to eligibility, though none will see any cash reduction in their personal allowance from April 2013 compared with 2012-13.
	An estimated 230,000 individuals will be brought into tax in 2013-14, with average tax liabilities of £62 and maximum tax liabilities of £323 for individuals aged 65.
	These estimates are based on the 2009-10 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility's March 2012 economic and fiscal outlook.

Infrastructure

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent progress has been made on the priority low carbon infrastructure projects in the National Infrastructure Plan.

Danny Alexander: The Government is taking an active role in ensuring the infrastructure identified in the National Infrastructure Plan 2011 is delivered efficiently and on time. An update was published alongside Budget 2012:
	http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/infrastructure_delivery_update.pdf
	which outlined progress on priority infrastructure including the resolution of radar interference issues affecting four gigawatts of wind energy developments.
	The Treasury will publish a further progress update on the priority infrastructure projects around the time of autumn statement 2012.

National Insurance Contributions: New Businesses

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish an updated version of the HM Revenue and Customs publication Regional Employers National Insurance Contributions Holiday for New Businesses factsheet.

David Gauke: HMRC has so far received around 20,000 applications for the NICs holiday.
	An updated factsheet, providing a breakdown by constituency and information on the amounts claimed, will be published after the claims for the 2011-12 tax year have been processed.

PAYE

Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employers use free software provided by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for PAYE filing; and what support HMRC is offering those employers for submitting PAYE real-time information.

David Gauke: The basic PAYE tools (BPT) for ‘traditional’ PAYE are currently used by about 100,000 employers to submit their employers' annual returns (P35/P14s).
	A new version of the tools has been developed to support the reporting of PAYE real time information (RTI) and is being used by some employers in the RTI pilot.
	HMRC have published a guide to assist employers in the transition from the traditional basic PAYE tools to the RTI basic PAYE tools on their website.
	In addition to this guidance HMRC are developing a separate BPT user guide. Employers can also contact the Online Services Helpdesk for any technical inquiries about using RTI basic PAYE tools and the Employer Helpline for advice on reporting PAYE in real time.

Pensions

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  for what reasons persons with less than £20,000 in annual pension income are not eligible for pension realisation options other than annuitisation;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the effect of allowing a choice between annuitisation or another pension realisation option to those with less than £20,000 in annual pension income.

Sajid Javid: For many people, annuities are an effective way to use their pension savings to provide a sustained income in retirement. Alternatively, individuals may be able to provide an income for themselves in retirement through a pension drawdown arrangement or a scheme pension.
	Under the flexible drawdown model, individuals are able to draw down unlimited amounts from their pension pot provided that they can demonstrate that they have secured a sufficient pension income of at least £20,000 per annum.
	The minimum income requirement was set at £20,000 of secured lifetime pension income after consideration of all the consultation responses. The Government exercised judgment in setting this level to achieve an appropriate balance between simplicity, flexibility, and financial risks for individuals and the Exchequer.
	While the Government recognises that not all savers will be able to access flexible drawdown, all savers will benefit more widely from the removal of the effective requirement to annuitise by age 75.

Pensions

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to review the rules on pension income drawdown introduced in April 2011.

Sajid Javid: The Government continually keeps all aspects of its policies under review and is committed to maintaining flexibility for those with drawdown arrangements.

Revenue and Customs: Sunderland

Julie Elliott: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the feasibility study considered by Ministers in his Department as part of the decision to close the HM Revenue and Customs office at Gilbridge House;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the equality impact assessment conducted as part of the decision to close the HM Revenue and Customs office at Gilbridge House;
	(3)  what representations his Department has received regarding the closure of the HM Revenue and Customs office at Gilbridge House;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of the economic effects on the city centre of Sunderland of the closure of the HM Revenue and Customs office at Gilbridge House;
	(5)  what assessment HM Revenue and Customs has made of the ability of surrounding offices to house staff currently working at its office in Gilbridge House when that office is closed.

David Gauke: There are no plans to publish or release the findings of HMRC's feasibility work into the closure of Gilbridge House in the form of either a study or a report. HMRC will be publishing some information from its feasibility findings on the Department's intranet site.
	There are no plans to place a copy of the equality impact assessment conducted to inform the decision to close Gilbridge House in the Library. HMRC does plan to publish the equality impact assessment on its internet site in the near future.
	In the past 12 months the following MPs have all written to lend their support to a PCS Union campaign against the closure of HMRC offices in Sunderland and Washington; some more than once:
	the hon. Member for Easington (Grahame M. Morris);
	the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South (Bridget Phillipson);
	the hon. Member for Jarrow (Mr Hepburn);
	the hon. Member for Gateshead (Ian Mearns);
	the right hon. Member for South Shields (David Miliband);
	the hon. Member for City of Durham (Roberta Blackman-Woods);
	the hon. Member for Sedgefield (Phil Wilson);
	the hon. Member for Blaydon (Mr Anderson);
	the hon. Member for Washington and Sunderland West (Mrs Hodgson); and
	the hon. Member for Sunderland Central (Julie Elliott).
	HMRC has also received letters about the closure from members of Sunderland city council and Sunderland City Centre Traders Association.
	In HMRC's assessment any economic effect on the surrounding area arising from the closure of Gilbridge House is likely to be minimal and temporary, lasting until such time as the building receives a new tenant.
	Before taking the decision to close Gilbridge House in Sunderland HMRC carried out a full assessment which took account of current and future business plans for its north-east estate. This included an analysis of how HMRC will use its office accommodation efficiently to deliver its full operational commitments. HMRC constantly reviews its office requirement as its business activities alter so that it can continue to accommodate the right number of people in the right locations.

Royal Bank of Scotland

Jim Murphy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  whether he has had discussions with the Royal Bank of Scotland on the proportion of RBS reviews of sales of interest rate hedging products which are not completed within the eight week statutory period;
	(2)  whether he has had discussions with the Royal Bank of Scotland on the statutory obligation to name the reviewer in cases of review into the selling of interest rate hedging products.

Greg Clark: Treasury Ministers and officials meet with, and receive representations from, a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the usual policymaking process. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such representations and discussions.
	The Government welcomes the agreement reached between the FSA and the banks to establish a package of proactive redress for businesses that were mis-sold hedging products, and supports them in the ongoing process.

Schools: Governing Bodies

Phillip Lee: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the affordability to the public purse of paying school governor's expenses.

Sajid Javid: The Treasury has not carried out an assessment of the affordability of paying school governors’ expenses. Payment of governors’ expenses is discretionary for schools and academies, and we expect them to ensure that any payments are affordable.

Students: Fees and Charges

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of changes in tuition fees on the consumer prices index; and what estimate he has made of the effect of such changes on other departmental budgets.

Sajid Javid: The Office for National Statistics is responsible for producing and publishing official statistics including the consumer prices index (CPI). The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is responsible for producing independent economic and fiscal forecasts.
	The OBR provided an assessment of the impact of tuition fees on their economic and fiscal forecasts in the November 2011 ‘Economic and Fiscal Outlook’ and will present updated forecasts alongside the autumn statement on 5 December.

Tax Yields

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of revenues to the Exchequer were accounted for by (a) corporation and (b) income tax in each of the last three years.

David Gauke: Latest public sector finances data in the following table show public sector current receipts, income and capital gains and corporation tax.
	
		
			 £ million/Percentage 
			  2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Public sector current receipts    
			 £ million 511,594 548,894 569,286 
			     
			 Income and capital gains tax (1)    
			 £ million 144,040 151,311 152,369 
			 Percentage 28.2 27.2 26.8 
			     
			 Corporation tax (2)    
			 £ million 35,805 42,121 42,151 
			 Percentage 7.0 7.7 7.4 
			 (1 )Includes capital gains tax paid by households. Includes income tax and capital gains lax paid by corporations. (2) HM Revenue and Customs as tax deductions. Includes capital gains tax paid by households. Includes income tax and capital gains tax paid by corporations.

Temporary Employment: Tax Avoidance

Michael Connarty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to combat tax avoidance by companies operating through travel and subsistence schemes for employees;
	(2)  if he will take steps to ensure that employers who operate travel and subsistence expenses schemes do so in full compliance with the provisions of legislation on the national minimum wage.

David Gauke: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the House on 19 November 2012, Official Report, column 273W.

VAT: Newspaper Press

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the monetary value was of the VAT concession provided to the newspaper industry in each of the last five years.

David Gauke: We do not have an estimate of the monetary value to the newspaper industry of the zero VAT rate for newspapers in each of the last five years.
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes data for household expenditure on the category ‘newspapers and periodicals’. Based on these data, crude estimates of the value of the VAT zero rate for newspapers would be:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2011 850 
			 2010 750 
			 2009 620 
			 2008 780 
			 2007 810 
		
	
	These figures do not account for behavioural effects that would result from a price increase. Nor do they account for business or Government expenditure on newspapers or periodicals.

Africa

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding her Department has allocated to the (a) Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, (b) East African Community and (c) South African Development Community; for what purposes any such funding was provided; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: The UK has the following regional programmes that support the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC) and the South African Development Community (SADC):
	The TradeMark Southern Africa Programme (£100 million) which supports economic growth, competitiveness and regional integration in the Tripartite region (consisting of COMESA-EAC and SADC);
	The TradeMark East Africa Programme (£85.44 million) which promotes EAC integration, trade and competitiveness;
	The Regional Trans-boundary Water Project (£37.3 million) which supports SADC and its member states to develop climate-resilient shared water resources in Southern Africa;
	The Scaling up Energy and Environment Partnership with Southern and East Africa (£27.6 million) which enhances energy access to the rural poor in the SADC and EAC regions;
	The Climate Resilient Agriculture Project (£38 million) which supports the uptake of climate resilient agricultural practices in the Tripartite region;
	The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (£10 million) which provides support to SADC and COMESA among others to increase economic growth through agriculture-led development; and
	The Southern Africa Regional Programme on Access to medicines (£10.7 million) which supports implementation of the SADC pharmaceutical business plan through technical assistance to SADC and its member states.

Africa

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the objectives and measurable outcomes are that she expects her Department's funding allocated to Trade Mark East Africa to achieve in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14 and (d) 2014-15; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) was designed by DFID and officially launched in February 2011 as a multi-donor, specialist agency on trade facilitation and economic integration. DFID currently provides £85.44 million (56% of TMEA secured funds) alongside funding from Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden. TMEA focuses on cutting the costs of trade and the national implementation of regional trade agreements in order to increase regional trade competitiveness. Key outcomes expected by 2016 include: a 15% reduction in transport time across East Africa; a 10% increase in export values (above trend), and a 25% increase (above trend) in the share of intra-regional trade as a proportion of East Africa's total trade.
	These outcomes are targeted for achievement by 2016. Outcomes are not targeted by year as the nature of such regional programmes means that it can take time for outcomes to be achieved, but progress is tracked each year through indicators such as: the reduction in average time to import or export a container to or from Burundi and Rwanda to East African ports; the total value of exports from the East African Community (EAC) region to the rest of the world; and the percentage share of intra-regional exports among EAC countries as a proportion of total exports. The annual targets for these indicators are currently being reviewed and we expect to finalise them in the new year. An independent review in early 2012 concluded that TMEA had built a strong foundation and is on track to speed up trade in East Africa by 15%.

Bangladesh

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if her Department will take steps to provide funding for un-adopted schools in Bangladesh; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) already provides support through two non-governmental partners—BRAC (previously known as Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee) and the Under Privileged Children's Education Programme—to un-adopted schools not funded by the GoB.
	These partners target the poorest children that are not in school from remote areas, urban slums, and those with special needs who have limited access to mainstream government schools. By 2015 we expect 1.3 million children to enrol and complete pre-primary education and 650,000 children to enrol and complete primary education.

Bangladesh

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 6 November 2012, Official Report, column 604W, on Bangladesh, what performance indicators her Department used to measure the success of the project.

Alan Duncan: The high level indicators for the project are:
	(1) The Economic Relation Division being responsible for managing aid flows which demonstrate improved aid coordination and aid management systems and skills.
	(2) Introduction and full utilisation of a web-based aid information management system (AIMS) which captures aid flow information and allows Bangladesh to report accurately and conduct analysis.
	(3) The Local Consultative Group mechanism for aid management, which is a joint government and development partner forum, is strengthened to function more effectively and direct aid allocation for greater impact. Sector sub-groups have results-oriented work plans.
	(4) Better development results through improved processes and accountability in the allocation and use of foreign aid and domestic resources.
	(5) Aid co-ordination and management capacities of the key Government of Bangladesh Ministries is strengthened, applying principles of effective aid management routinely.

Burma

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to ensure greater co-ordination of the work of relief agencies in Burma.

Alan Duncan: DFID ensure that the funds are well coordinated with the work of other agencies; by encouraging the United Nations (UN) to strengthen its coordination of relief work; and by working to ensure the Burmese Government coordinates its response with the UN and others. DFID also takes steps to allow full coordinated humanitarian access to conflict-affected areas.

Burma

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what technical assistance her Department is providing for reconciliation inside Rakhine State, Burma.

Alan Duncan: DFID has focused on meeting urgent humanitarian needs in Rakhine and is not currently providing technical assistance for reconciliation inside Rakhine State. In addition to core funding of multilateral working in the area, DFID has allocated £2 million of bilateral funds for humanitarian relief for victims of violence in Rakhine state. This includes the provision of improved drinking water and sanitation facilities and treatment for malnutrition. UK Ministers have made several public statements to express our deep concern about the violence. We welcomed the formation of an independent Investigative Commission to probe the violence but made clear that for the Commission to be credible it needed to involve a consultative process with all the affected communities.

Colombia

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 12 November 2012, Official Report, column 18W, on Colombia, whether her Department has any plans to allocate aid to Colombia in the next three years.

Alan Duncan: DFID has no bilateral aid programme in Colombia and therefore does not plan to allocate aid to Colombia in the next three years. However, other Government Departments including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department of Energy and Climate Change provide funding that is classified as official development assistance.

Developing Countries: Food

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to the Prime Minister's hunger summit, what steps she is taking to eradicate world hunger.

Justine Greening: Between 2011 and 2015, the coalition Government has committed to reach 20 million children and pregnant women in developing countries through our nutrition-related programmes, and ensure another 4 million people have enough food to eat throughout the year.
	At this year's G8 summit, the Prime Minister gave strong support to the ‘New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition’—a new 10-year initiative to lift 50 million people out of poverty and increase food security. The Prime Minister also co-hosted a high level event on hunger in August this year with the Government of Brazil, at which the UK agreed support to agricultural research that could help feed 45 million people. The Prime Minister has recently confirmed that the UK will continue to lead the battle against hunger with an event on food and nutrition in 2013 a few days before the 2013 G8 summit in Lough Erne.

Developing Countries: Poliomyelitis

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding the UK will provide to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in each of the next five years.

Alan Duncan: The UK Government is strongly committed to polio eradication. The UK Government has disbursed £40 million to the GPEI in the current 2012-13 financial year. As this marks the final year of the current pledge we are now considering our support for future years from 2013.

Developing Countries: Sanitation

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to support World Toilet Day in 2012; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: DFID marked World Toilet Day in several ways:
	By contributing a blog piece entitled 'Girls, Women and Sanitation—Dignity matters', as part of WaterAid's "Thunderclap" World Toilet day blog event.
	By holding a seminar in DFID's Palace Street headquarters, featuring both internal and external speakers, on "the role of sanitation and hygiene in improving child survival and development";
	An all-day exhibition in DFID Palace Street Atrium will include a display stand with various posters on sanitation and hygiene.

Foreign Workers

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what arrangements are in place to monitor working conditions and living standards of employees who work in firms established in UK-supported export processing zones.

Alan Duncan: DFID is helping to deliver good social and environmental standards in economic processing zones (EPZs). For example, in Bangladesh DFID is working with the World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) to support a network of 60 labour counsellors who have helped to increase compliance with labour laws in the country's eight EPZs, from 30-40% to 92% of companies. In 2012, 99% of grievances were resolved. These labour counsellors have also helped to set up Worker Welfare Associations in EPZ factories. More than half of companies operating in the EPZs now have Worker Welfare Associations. The minimum wage inside the EPZs is 33% higher than outside, and the labour counsellors are reporting a 95% compliance with the payment of this minimum wage.
	Through the IFC, DFID has also supported the drafting of a new Economic Zones Act which was passed in 2010. The Act enshrines in law all of the gains for labour in the current EPZs, and seeks to expand worker rights.
	Firms who locate their business in special economic zones are expected to comply with local labour laws.

Nurseries

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many child care places her Department provides on its estate; what the cost is of providing such places; how many such places her Department provided in 2010; what the cost was of providing such places in 2010; what plans she has for changes in the provision of such child care places; and what the number of places will be once any such changes have been implemented.

Alan Duncan: DFID does not offer any child care places on site. However, in line with other Government Departments, we make use of the Westminster Holiday Playscheme which enables DFID employees who are parents and/or permanent carers (adoptive, step-parents, legal guardians and anyone who has parental right) to book their children into a central London venue from 08:30 to 17:30 during the major school holidays in spring, summer and winter. The scheme is run by Tines and a Committee of Management—comprised of representatives from several Government Departments—administers the contract, under the management of the Metropolitan Police Service.
	The total cost of a place is currently £33.00 per child per day. DFID subsidises the cost of the play scheme by 50% on the cost of each child place.

Overseas Aid

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress her Department has made on implementation of the commitment to double the number of people her Department will reach with water, sanitation and hygiene by 2015; what steps she is taking to make information on such progress readily available; and when she plans to make such information available.

Alan Duncan: Our current or planned programmes that will contribute to meeting this target include:
	1. Programmes managed by our offices in countries in Africa and Asia. We currently have water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programmes in 15 countries and these are the principal routes through which we will deliver our results.
	2. Existing partnerships with a range of organisations such as the Water and Sanitation Program, Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor and WaterAid.
	In addition, the Department is exploring further options including new partnerships with the UN, civil society and the private sector. Once specific programmes are approved, they will be made publically available via the DFID website, alongside annual reviews of progress.
	Specific results of DFID's ongoing WASH programmes are detailed in the ‘DFID Annual Report and Accounts 2011-12’. While it is still very early in the process, details of results from the implementation of more recent commitments will be detailed in the next Annual Report, due in June 2013.

Overseas Aid

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether her Department has received any representations on the use of UK aid to support private sector investment in developing countries to the detriment of local public support networks.

Alan Duncan: There is an on-going postcard/e-mail campaign organised by World Development Movement. Beyond this, we have received no representations.

Overseas Aid

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the extent to which UK aid is distributed in developing countries through private companies; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: DFID publish full information on expenditure across its bilateral and multilateral programmes annually through its Statistics on International Development publication:
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/About-us/How-we-measure-progress/Aid-Statistics/Statistics-on-International-Development-2011/
	In 2012 the total programme expenditure for the department was £7.7 billion of which only £483 million was committed through contracts with the private sector for supplier services. This represents only around 6% of the total programme budget.

Sahel

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in the Sahel region.

Lynne Featherstone: The annual rainy season has brought much needed relief to the 20 million men, women and children who were at risk of going hungry in 2012 across the Sahel. Recent rainfall has been abundant and widespread, resulting in a good start to the growing season. While a significant proportion of people are still feeling the effects of the food and nutrition crisis, the majority of communities across the Sahel are now receiving the support they need.
	The UK Government remains particularly concerned about the humanitarian situation in Northern Mali, where over 300,000 people have been displaced as a result of conflict. The UK is currently delivering urgent humanitarian aid to over 50,000 people in Mali and will continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure that needs are being met as effectively and efficiently as possible.
	Britain was one of the first donors to respond to the food and nutrition crisis in the Sahel this year, providing £25.4 million to support 1.6 million people at risk of hunger across Mali, Niger, Chad, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Gambia.
	The UK Government will continue to monitor the situation given the chronic state of food insecurity in the region.

Lobbying

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he expects to bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a statutory register of lobbyists.

Chloe Smith: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 October 2012, Official Report, column 331W, to the hon. Member for Bristol East (Kerry McCarthy).

Lord Lieutenants

Kevan Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost to the public purse of the secretaries to the lords lieutenant of Durham was by cost category in each of the last five years.

Chloe Smith: The cost to the public purse for the clerk, assistant clerk and secretary to the lord lieutenant of Durham, Sir Paul Nicholson, in each of the past five years, is set out as follows:
	
		
			  Salary and national insurance 
			 2007-08 31,463 
			 2008-09 32,622 
			 2009-10 35,234 
			 2010-11 35,569 
			 2011-12 35,617

Lord Lieutenants

Kevan Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the selection procedure is for the post of lord lieutenant of Durham.

Chloe Smith: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 25 October 2012, Official Report, column 1032W.

Charities: Christianity

Peter Bone: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what his policy is on long-established Christian charities of all denominations being part of his Big Society initiative;
	(2)  what representations he has received on the use of the public benefit test on Christian organisations by the Charities Commission; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  if he will give guidance to the Charities Commission that there should be a presumption that existing Christian charities should not have their charitable status removed;
	(4)  what his definition is of the public benefit obligation of Christian organisations as it applies in the Charities Act 2006.

William McCrea: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will review the operation of legislation on public benefit to ensure that previously accepted religious charities are not threatened with removal of their charitable status.

Nick Hurd: The Government recognises that religious charities of all faiths have an important role to play in building a bigger, stronger society.
	The Charities Act 2006 made it clear that no particular purpose is to be presumed to be for the public benefit. The Act removed any presumption of public benefit for charities that advance religion as well as charities for the advancement of education or the relief of poverty. It also required the Charity Commission to issue guidance on the operation of the public benefit requirement which it did in 2008, including publishing guidance on public benefit and religion.
	I have received a number of representations on the Charity Commission's decision not to register a particular religious organisation as a charity, which has been appealed to the First Tier Tribunal (Charity). The Charity Commission is statutorily independent of Government, and is not subject to ministerial direction or control. It is answerable to the Tribunals and courts for its legal decisions.

Departmental Records

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether his Department manually or electronically stores files and extracts from the PREM 15 series that have been retained by the Department.

Francis Maude: holding answer 22 November 2012
	Historical records retained by the Cabinet Office under Section 3(4) of the Public Records Act, including those from the PREM 15 series (Prime Minister's Office: correspondence and papers, 1970-74), are paper records and must be retrieved manually.

Employment Agencies

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what his policy is on the use of offshore employment companies in the supply of public sector workers in his Department and its associated public bodies.

Francis Maude: Any consideration to use such companies would be undertaken on a case by case basis.

Job Creation: Private Sector

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of new jobs created in the private sector between August 2010 and August 2012 in Scotland were part-time positions.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated November 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question.
	Information regarding jobs created is not available. As an alternative, We are able to estimate the increase in private sector employment using the Annual Population Survey (APS). Between the APS periods July 2009-June 2010 and July 2011-June 2012, 80% of the increase was in part-time employment.
	In the APS the distinction between public and private sector is based on respondents' views about the organisation for which they work. APS estimates are based on interviews that took place throughout the 12 months covered by the survey period.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk

Jobseeker's Allowance: Havering

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what proportion of people on jobseeker's allowance in Havering are below the age of 25;
	(2)  how many people in Havering are currently in receipt of jobseeker's allowance;
	(3)  how many people in Havering are currently unemployed.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated November 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions asking:
	1. What proportion of people on jobseeker's allowance in Havering are below the age of 25? (130393)
	2. How many people in Havering are currently in receipt of jobseeker's allowance? (130395)
	3. How many people in Havering are currently unemployed? (130396)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles the number of claimants of Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) from the Jobcentre Plus administrative system.
	1. The proportion of the people claiming JSA in Havering, aged from .16 to 24 years in October 2012, was 29%.
	2. The number of people resident in Havering, who were claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in October 2012 was 5449.
	The Office for National Statistics produces estimates of total unemployment for unitary and local authorities, from a statistical model based on the Annual Population Survey (APS) lending strength from the Claimant Count, following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.
	3. For the period July 2011 to June 2012, the most recent period for which figures are available, there were 10,300 people unemployed in Havering.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk

Military Medals Review

Jason McCartney: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what timescale has been set for the Sir John Holmes Medal Review into the National Defence Medal;
	(2)  how many phases of Sir John Holmes's Military Medal Review into the National Defence Medal he has commissioned;
	(3)  if he will make it his policy that there should be an appeals process in relation to the findings made by the Sir John Holmes Medal Review into the National Defence Medal.

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when the first recommendations of the second stage of Sir John Holmes' Military Medal Review will be made; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: I refer my hon. Friends to the answers I gave on 13 November 2012, Official Report, column 214W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (Nicola Blackwood) and the hon. Member for Bolton West (Julie Hilling).
	Sir John Holmes has made good progress on the further work he was invited to undertake further work on the Military Medals Review and this work is being completed in stages. There is not however a finite number of phases of work; Sir John will decide how best to proceed and manage the work.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on how many UK citizens are (a) in the eastern region of Democratic Republic of Congo and (b) at risk as a result of the ongoing security problems in the region.

Mark Simmonds: We are aware of a small number of British nationals who have remained in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against all travel to eastern and north eastern DRC due to the security situation and we advise any British nationals in North and South Kivu, Goma or Bukavu to leave. Our ability to provide consular assistance in the affected areas is extremely limited, however British consular staff have been assisting British nationals who wish to leave, and are in regular contact with the small number who have chosen to remain against our clear advice. The situation is fast moving and we advise British nationals to regularly check our travel advice.

Iran

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the number of Iranian dissidents executed since January 2012; if he will condemn such executions; and what steps he is taking to support peaceful, political opposition to the Iranian regime.

Alistair Burt: There have been over 300 executions in Iran since January, most of which were for drugs offences. Executions are often carried out in secret and based on vague charges. It is therefore difficult to establish what proportion could be considered dissidents. We frequently condemn Iran's excessive use of the death penalty, such as in a statement I made on 24 October. It is for the Iranian people to choose their own government, but the UK strongly supports the right of Iranian citizens to freedom of expression.

Iraq

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any reliable evidence has been presented supporting the government of Iraq's claim to ownership of the properties in Camp Ashraf under international law; and whether the Government supports the government of Iraq's claim or that of the residents of Camp Ashraf.

Alistair Burt: The UK, in common with other international partners, believes it is for the sovereign Government of Iraq and the leadership of Camp Ashraf to resolve the future of residents of the Camp, including the issue of property ownership, through meaningful and peaceful negotiation. The UK continues to press all sides to reach a peaceful solution, and for the Government of Iraq to respect the human rights of the residents of Camp Ashraf.

Middle East

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of whether there has been (a) Libyan, (b) Egyptian and (c) Iranian involvement in providing advanced weaponry to Hamas and other terrorist organisations in Gaza.

Alistair Burt: We are not aware that the Libyan or Egyptian Governments have provided advanced weaponry or other arms to Hamas and other terrorist organisations in Gaza.
	We are aware of reports of arms smuggling in and through the Sinai Peninsula and are monitoring the situation. We welcome Egypt's efforts to secure an agreement to end hostilities on 21 November.
	The UK is aware that Iran does provide support, including weaponry, to militant groups such as Hamas. Such support is unacceptable and in direct contravention to the UN embargo on the export of weapons by Iran (UNSCR 1747). Iran's support to these groups directly undermines prospects for peace in the region and further undermines the Iranian Government's claim to the international community, and its own people, that it supports stability in the middle east.

Middle East

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the continued blockade of Gaza on the Middle East peace process.

Alistair Burt: A lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be a solution that includes Gaza.
	We have been clear that there is a need for Israel to further ease its restrictions on Gaza. These restrictions have been estimated as costing the Palestinian economy up to 85% of its Gross Domestic Product every year.
	While we will never underestimate the security needs of Israel, with unemployment in Gaza at 26%, private sector business there at risk of collapse, and Hamas profiting from smuggled goods through the tunnels, there is an urgent need to reopen Gaza's access to its traditional markets in the West Bank and Israel. An improved economy is not only essential for the people of Gaza, but firmly in Israel's security interests.
	We are clear that more needs to be done, including on easing restrictions on exports, construction material imports and the movement of people. The UK will continue to work alongside our EU partners with Israel to achieve the real changes on the ground that we are looking for.
	The UK's goal is a negotiated two-state solution, resulting in a sovereign and viable Palestinian state living alongside a secure and universally recognised Israel. We will continue to be one of the principal supporters of Palestinian state building efforts, assisting them to tackle poverty, build institutions and boost their economy.

Middle East

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will offer support to Palestinians calling for peace and self-determination.

Alistair Burt: We are clear that there is an urgent need to resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict, to give the Palestinian people the state that they need and deserve, and the Israeli people the security and peace that have eluded them for so long.
	The way to achieve this is a negotiated two state solution resulting in a secure and universally recognised Israel living alongside a sovereign and viable Palestinian state, based on the borders of 1967, with Jerusalem the future capital of both states, and a fair, just and agreed settlement for refugees.
	The priority now is for the United States, supported by the international community, to show strong leadership and make a huge effort to push the middle east peace process forward in the coming months and we have made this clear to the Obama Administration. This offers the best opportunity of progress towards our ultimate goal of a two-state solution, which the UK strongly supports.

Middle East

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the number of rockets that have been fired from Gaza into Israel since 30 October 2012; what recent discussions he has had with the government of Israel on such attacks; and if he will make a statement. [R]

Alistair Burt: We have received reports that 287 rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel between 30 October and 14 November. According to Israeli Defence Forces figures, 1,443 rockets were fired during the period 14-21 November.
	The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), spoke to his Israeli counterpart about the recent escalation of violence in and around Gaza on 17 and 21 November. I also spoke to Mr Lieberman during my visit to Israel on 21 November.

Middle East

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on preventing civilian casualties in Gaza.

Alistair Burt: The British Government is gravely concerned by the recent violence in Gaza and southern Israel and deeply regrets the loss of civilian life. We consistently called on those involved to avoid any action which risked civilian casualties and to abide by international humanitarian law.
	The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised this issue during discussions with his Israeli counterpart Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on 17 and 21 November. I also spoke to Foreign Minister Lieberman during my visit to Israel on 21 November and again on 22 November.

Middle East

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will call on the government of Israel to stop the demolition of houses in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Alistair Burt: We have repeatedly made clear to the Israelis our serious concern at the 40% increase last year, as recorded by the UN, in demolitions of Palestinian properties in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Our ambassador to Tel Aviv raised this issue with the Israeli Co-ordinator of Government Activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 9 October. We view such demolitions and evictions as causing unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians; as harmful to the peace process; and, in all but the most limited circumstances, as contrary to international humanitarian law.
	In addition we continue to support Palestinians facing demolition or eviction in the Occupied Palestinian Territories through support to the Norwegian Refugee Council legal aid programme which helps individuals to challenge these decisions in the Israeli Legal System.

Middle East

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will call on the government of Israel to stop settlement building.

Alistair Burt: We have repeatedly condemned Israel's announcements to accelerate settlement building in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including East Jerusalem and called on Israel to reverse these. As well as being illegal under international law, settlements undermine the possibility of a two state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and those working for a sustainable peace.
	We look to the Government of Israel to take all necessary steps to prevent settlement construction and raise this issue on a regular basis with the Israeli authorities.

North Korea

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on article 233 of the Criminal Code.

Hugo Swire: On 20 November 2012, our ambassador to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea met with the Europe Director in the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During this meeting, he raised the UK's concerns about the continued reports of human rights abuses identified in the Special Rapporteur's most recent report to the United Nations. The report includes concerns about article 233 of the Criminal Code which imposes up to five years of labour for anyone illegally crossing DPRK borders.
	On 2 November 2012, the UK also participated in a United Nations debate on the report issued by the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, where we made clear that the Democratic People's Republic of 'Korea's criminalisation of people crossing its borders infringed on their right to freedom of movement.

North Korea

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will call on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to release all persons who have been detained under the guilt by association policy.

Hugo Swire: The Government is clear that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's guilt by association policy breaches international human rights standards. On 20 November 2012, our ambassador to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea met the Europe Director in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During this meeting, he raised our concerns about reports of human rights abuses identified in the Special Rapporteur's most recent report to the United Nations, including the need for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to immediately release all persons who are held under the policy of guilt by association.

North Korea

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on findings and recommendations of his recent report to the UN General Assembly.

Hugo Swire: I refer my hon. Friend to the answers given by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 22 October 2012, Official Report, House of  Lords, column WA30-31, where he stated that United Kingdom officials in New York would meet the Special Rapporteur to discuss his report to the General Assembly. This meeting was unfortunately postponed due to Hurricane Sandy. We are looking for opportunities to reschedule it in advance of the Human Rights Council in March.
	On 2 November, the UK participated in the debate on the Special Rapporteur's report, where we raised concerns about the food situation and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's prioritisation of the military through the ‘Songbun’ policy. We also raised concerns about the criminalisation of people crossing national borders, repatriation of refugees from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and called on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to engage with international human rights mechanisms on prison camps.

North Korea

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will support the establishment of a UN commission of inquiry into crimes against humanity in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea through the UN Human Rights Council or General Assembly.

Hugo Swire: A proposal to set up a Commission of Inquiry has not been put to the United Nations Human Rights Council or General Assembly. If it is brought to the United Nations, the Government will consider the merits of the proposal and how this could complement our other bilateral and multilateral work.
	The United Kingdom continues to make clear to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's authorities our concerns about the human rights situation in the country.

Uganda

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to his Ugandan counterpart on Uganda's policies on human rights and sexual orientation.

Mark Simmonds: The British Government is committed to ensuring that Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people around the world are free to live their lives in a safe and just environment. We are therefore concerned about the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill being considered by the Ugandan Parliament. We have raised our concerns regularly. Most recently. I raised this issue with President Museveni during my visit to Uganda on 21 November.

Western Sahara

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on whether the Saharawi people have been consulted as to their wishes in respect of the export of phosphates from occupied Western Sahara.

Alistair Burt: We support the efforts of the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Western Sahara, ambassador Christopher Ross, to encourage Morocco and the Polisario Front to address issues regarding the use of the territory's natural resources. In his most recent annual report on Western Sahara, published in April 2012, the UN Secretary-General notes that in November 2011 the two parties held a technical discussion about natural resources in Western Sahara.

Western Sahara

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Moroccan Ambassador to the UK about political persecution in the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign Secretary and I discuss Western Sahara, including human rights issues, when we meet our Moroccan counterparts. The Government strongly supports the UN-led efforts to encourage agreement on a lasting and mutually-acceptable political solution that provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.

Apprentices

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeship starts there were in each sector for each sex in England in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2010-11.

Matthew Hancock: Table 1 shows the number of Apprenticeship programme starts by sector subject area and gender. Final data are shown for the 2010/11 academic year and provisional data are shown for the 2011/12 academic year.
	Provisional data for the 2011/12 academic year provide an early view of performance and will change as further data returns are received from further education colleges and providers. They should not be directly compared with final year data from previous years. Figures for 2011/12 will be finalised in January 2013.
	
		
			 Table 1: Apprenticeship programme starts by sector subject area and gender, 2010/11 to 2011/12 (provisional) 
			  2010/11 (final) 2011/12 (provisional) 
			 Sector subject area Female Male All Female Male All 
			 Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care 3,070 4,310 7,380 2,620 4,800 7,420 
			 Arts, Media and Publishing 330 700 1,030 470 680 1,150 
			 Business, Administration and Law 87,410 46,410 133,820 102,390 56,900 159,290 
			 Construction, Planning and the Built Environment 440 27,650 28,090 400 22,570 22,960 
			 Education and Training 3,580 490 4,070 5,660 1,080 6,740 
			 Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies 2,990 45,970 48,970 5,120 51,880 57,000 
			 Health, Public Services and Care 73,460 16,510 89,970 82,630 21,910 104,550 
			 Information and Communication Technology 4,920 14,610 19,520 3,930 14,260 18,190 
			 Languages, Literature and Culture * * * * * * 
			 Leisure, Travel and Tourism 6,290 15,290 21,590 5,660 13,830 19,490 
			 Preparation for Life and Work * * * * * * 
			 Retail and Commercial Enterprise 63,500 39,280 102,770 57,050 48,330 105,380 
			 Science and Mathematics * 10 10 150 210 360 
			 All 246,000 211,200 457,200 266,100 236,400 502,500 
			 “*”indicates a figure of less than 5. Notes: 1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10 except for the overall totals which are rounded to the nearest 100. 2. Provisional data for 2011/12 should not be directly compared with data for earlier years. Source: Individualised Learner Record

Apprentices

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  how many apprenticeships had a length of stay that was (a) 53, (b) 29, (c) 17 and (d) 13 weeks in the 2011-12 academic year;
	(2)  how many apprenticeships have a planned length of stay of less than 53 weeks in the 2012-13 academic year;
	(3)  how many individuals started more than one apprenticeship at the same programme level in the academic year 2011-12.

Matthew Hancock: Table 1 shows provisional apprenticeship achievements (adjusted) by duration for the 2011/12 academic year. Care should be taken when interpreting apprenticeship durations as they are dependent on the mix of apprenticeship levels and frameworks, and the prior attainment of learners (some will already have completed parts of the apprenticeship). The adjusted measure is intended to exclude those apprentices with some prior attainment.
	
		
			 Table 1: Apprenticeship achievements (adjusted) by duration, 2011/12 (provisional) 
			 Number of weeks Achievements (adjusted) 
			 13 360 
			 17 1,010 
			 29 3,190 
		
	
	
		
			 53 5,490 
			 Notes: 1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Provisional data for 2011/12 should not be directly compared with data for earlier years. 3. The number of achievements at any point during the year are counted. Learners achieving more than one framework will appear more than once. 4. In order to be counted as a successful achievement, all elements of the framework must have been achieved. 5. 13 weeks includes those apprenticeships lasting more than 12 weeks but less than or equal to 13 weeks. Similarly for other durations. Source: Individualised Learner Record 
		
	
	Provisional data show that there were 2,500 learners who started more than one apprenticeship at the same programme level in the 2011/12 academic year.
	Provisional data for the 2011/12 academic year provide an early view of performance and will change as further data returns are received from further education colleges and providers. They should not be directly compared with final year data from previous years. Figures for 2011/12 will be finalised in January 2013.
	Data for 2012/13 are not yet available. The first figures for 2012/13 will be published in January 2013.
	Information on the number of apprenticeship starts is published in a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 11 October 2012:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current
	Information on the number of apprenticeship achievements by duration is published on the Data Service website:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_other_statistics/

Billing

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 12 June 2012, Official Report, column 412W, on procurement, if he will extend the contractual requirement that payment reaches the third tier of the supply chain within 30 days on Government construction projects to cover tiers lower than the third; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: holding answer 22 November 2012
	There are no plans to extend this contractual requirement at the moment; however, central Government has led the way in the use of Project Bank Accounts (PBAs). Using PBAs, payments due are made by the Government client to Tier 3 of the supply chain within five days. In instances where PBAs are not used, the requirement for contractors to pay their sub-contractors within 30 days—in line with the Government's Prompt Payment Code—is specified in contract terms.
	Beyond Tier 3, Cabinet Office operates a Mystery Shopper Line, which allows all contractors to report issues concerning public procurement, including those associated with payment, enabling efforts to focus on areas where problems have been raised.

Business: Government Assistance

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many business mentors have signed up to his Department's mentoring initiative; and what assessment he has made of when the target of 26,000 business mentors will be reached.

Michael Fallon: Over 13,000 volunteers from the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) community have now completed government funded training through the Get Mentoring project, delivered by the Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative (SFEDI). Once trained, the Get Mentoring volunteers along with the existing network of business mentors are accessible through mentorsme.co.uk, the national mentoring portal owned and operated by the British Bankers' Association (BBA). We are on track to reach our target of a national mentoring network of 26,000 mentors by the end of December.

Business: Government Assistance

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to pages 11-12 of his Department's strategy for sustainable growth, published in July 2010, on access to finance, how many grants have been made as part of the Growth Capital Fund since it was created; how much such funding has been provided in such grants; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: The creation of the Growth Capital Fund was announced by the previous Government to address the funding gap identified by the Rowlands Review which affects established businesses of between £10 million and £100 million turnover seeking growth finance of £2 million to £10 million.
	The coalition Government negotiated with the banks to increase their contribution to the Fund, which led to the establishment instead of the £2.5 billion private sector-run and wholly bank-funded Business Growth Fund. While the Government is not an investor in the Business Growth Fund and plays no part in its management, the Fund is much larger than the Growth Capital Fund would have been and therefore has the potential to benefit many more growing companies.
	So far, the Business Growth Fund has made 18 investments totalling over £90 million in growing companies. More detail of which companies have benefited is available from the Business Growth Fund website.

Employment Agencies

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his policy is on the use of offshore employment companies in the supply of public sector workers in his Department and its associated public bodies.

Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills only uses those employment companies listed under Government Procurement Service framework agreements as these offer value for money, fully EU compliant procurement solutions and are compliant with the recommendations of the Government's review into the tax arrangements of senior public sector appointees.
	Information related to each of the Department's many non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally and to obtain this information would incur disproportionate cost.

Higher Education

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department has taken to promote UK higher education in the Middle East and North Africa.

David Willetts: The Government promotes UK education through a range of channels, including the Higher Education (HE) Global Integrated Advisory Service website which brings together services and information provided by Government and partner organisations
	http://heglobal.international.ac.uk/
	and the Education UK website, managed by the British Council
	www.educationuk.org/UK/A-UK-education
	Through ministerial engagement with our overseas counterparts the Government is supporting the UK HE sector to develop partnerships between UK and MENA (Middle East North Africa) HE institutions.
	UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) provides support for universities to explore collaborative opportunities in the middle east and north Africa through its network of trade and investment offices based at British embassies and consulates and a programme of outward missions and exhibitions aimed at profiling UK education excellence to key decision-makers and influencers in these markets.
	Examples include the forthcoming UKTI supported trade mission to Saudi Arabia, Oman and Dubai from 9-13 December 2012, which will explore opportunities for UK corporate and executive training providers in these markets—a number of UK universities will participate in this visit and a trade mission to Libya in February 2013 to explore the potential for bilateral collaboration in the higher education sector.

New Businesses: East of England

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of business start-ups in (a) the east of England, (b) Suffolk and (c) Bury St. Edmunds constituency in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated November 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the number of business start-ups in (a) the East of England, (b) Suffolk and (c) Bury St. Edmunds constituency in each of the last five years. (129651)
	Annual statistics on the number of business start-ups, which we refer to as “enterprise births”, are available in the ONS release on Business Demography at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/bus-register/business-demography/2010/stb---business-demography-2010.html#tab-Headlines-figures
	The table contains the latest figures available on the number of enterprise births in (a) the East of England, (b) Suffolk and (c) Bury St. Edmunds constituency.
	
		
			 Count of enterprise births in (a) the East of England, (b) Suffolk and (c) Bury St. Edmunds constituency, 2006-2010 
			  East of England Suffolk Bury St Edmunds 
			 2006 25,055 2775 435 
			 2007 27,600 3060 480 
			 2008 25,975 2590 410 
			 2009 23,535 2365 360 
			 2010 22,580 2205 360 
			 Note: The above figures have been rounded to the nearest five.

Photographs

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make it his policy to adopt the Photo Marketing Association proposals for identity photographs for use in Government documentation.

Stephen Hammond: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Transport.
	The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has just awarded its Front Office Counter Services contract to Post Office Ltd. The framework will allow other Government Departments to use the contract. This follows a full procurement process, in line with EU regulations. The contract has been awarded on a non-exclusive basis to ensure competition can continue.
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is the 100% shareholder of Post Office Ltd. Commercial and operational decisions are the responsibility of Post Office Ltd, these include decisions on any partners the company works with to deliver its services.
	The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is in discussion with the wider high street photography sector, to explore how it can use the non-exclusive nature of the contract to create further innovative solutions for service delivery. The Photo Marketing Association proposals are not the only solutions under consideration. The potential options will be assessed against quality and security requirements, customer service in terms of convenience and overall cost as well as compliance with the Government's Digital Strategy.

Post Offices: East of England

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many sub-post offices there were in each local authority area in the East of England in each of the last three years.

Jo Swinson: The information requested is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the chief executive officer of Post Office Ltd, to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Procurement

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many contracts have been awarded by his Department or its agencies to Business and Enterprise Commercial Ltd in each of the last two years.

Jo Swinson: Having undertaken an analysis from the latest expenditure data we have access to, there have been no payments made to Business and Enterprise Commercial Ltd in either of the last two years.
	I have asked chief executives of the Executive agencies to respond directly to the hon. Member.

Satellite Communications

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate his Department has made of the return on the expenditure of funds on the European Space Agency's ARTES satellite telecommunications development programme since 2008.

David Willetts: The UK subscription to ARTES during the 2008-12 period was 169 million euros and the subscription was fully allocated. The ARTES programme covers a variety of activity from foundation technology through to demonstration missions (Hylas, Alphasat) and applications programmes, such as the Integrated Applications Promotion programme (IAP). Due to the nature of the variety in the programme some of the returns will not reach maturity for a number of years but the continued support has demonstrated consistent growth in the sector.
	The programme itself requires match funding for many of the activities so generates an immediate 2:1 return on the public investment. The impact to date can be measured by the changes in the size and health figures collated by UK Space Agency, comparing the 2008 to the 2012 figures the satellite telecoms sector can be seen to have grown in terms of annual revenue from £4.9 billion to £7.8 billion. This gives a current return on expenditure in the order of 20:1.

UK Trade and Investment

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills to which budgets UK Trade and Investment has allocated the £10 million in extra funds it received in the 2011 Autumn Statement.

Michael Fallon: The 2011 autumn statement announced £45 million over four years for UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) to help get more UK firms exporting. £10 million has been allocated against a new mid-sized business programme, which will be delivered through regional trade team budgets. The remaining £35 million is being used to double the number of companies that UKTI helps towards export to 50,000 a year by 2014-15. This will be achieved through a number of budget lines including regional trade support, the Tradeshow Access Programme, national trade missions and events and support for companies targeting the highest value trade opportunities.

UK Trade and Investment

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills in which markets his Department plans to allocate the £8 million pilot funds to increase the level of service UK Trade and Investment has to offer; and to which service budgets his Department plans to allocate such funds.

Michael Fallon: UK Trade and Investment will allocate this pilot funding among the following 20 markets: Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Poland, Romania, Turkey, Russia, Nigeria, South Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, India, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. China will also be associated with this initiative, but is in a special category by virtue of the business to business services already provided by the China-Britain Business Council.

Temporary Employment

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure that temporary and agency workers are not exploited by labour providers who operate false travel and subsistence schemes under which such allowances are not paid to such workers.

David Gauke: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the House on 19 November 2012, Official Report, column 273W.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Dorset

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were treated at the Accident and Emergency Department at Poole General Hospital in each of the last six months for which figures are available; and how many such patients attended (a) between 10.00 pm and 8.00 am and (b) at weekends.

Anna Soubry: The table shows the Count of (i) attendances(1) to accident and emergency (A&E) for Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust(2), (ii) attendances between 10 pm and 8 am, and (iii) attendances at weekends for the period February to July 2012. It should be noted that this data is provisional(3).
	(1) A&E Attendances
	Activity at A&E departments is recorded as the number of attendances. It should be noted that an individual person may attend the same or different A&E departments within any given year and therefore this does not represent the number of patients. The data presented includes planned follow-up attendances
	(2) A&E service providers
	A provider code is a unique code that identifies an organisation acting as a health care provider (e.g. NHS trust or primary care trust). Data from some independent sector providers, where the onus for arrangement of dataflows is on the commissioner, may be missing. Care must be taken when using this data as the counts may be lower than true figures.
	(3) Provisional data
	The data is provisional and may be incomplete or contain errors for which no adjustments have yet been made. Counts produced from provisional data are likely to be lower than those generated for the same period in the final dataset. This shortfall will be most pronounced in the final month of the latest period, i.e. November from the (month 9) April to November extract. It is also probable that clinical data are not complete, which may in particular affect the last two months of any given period. There may also be errors due to coding inconsistencies that have not yet been investigated and corrected.
	
		
			 Activity in English NHS hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			  Total attendances Attendances between 10 pm and 8 am All weekend attendances 
			 February 4,229 894 1,114 
			 March 5,011 951 1,450 
			 April 4,788 997 1,471 
			 May 5,158 1,110 1,432 
			 June 5,118 1,089 1,599 
			 July 5,354 1,127 1,621 
			 Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

Accident and Emergency Departments: Dorset

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were treated at the Accident and Emergency Department at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital in each of the last six months for which figures are available; and how many such patients attended (a) between 10.00 pm and 8.00 am and (b) at weekends.

Anna Soubry: The following table shows the count of (i) attendances(1) to accident and emergency (A&E) for the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust(2), (ii) attendances between 10pm and 8am, and (iii) attendances at weekends for the period February to July 2012. It should be noted that this data is provisional(3).
	
		
			 Activity in English NHS hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			  Total attendances Attendances between 10pm and 8am All weekend attendances 
			 February 5,080 701 1,338 
			 March 5,840 802 1,576 
			 April 5,288 711 1,498 
			 May 5,934 804 1,488 
			 June 5,911 809 1,742 
			 July 6,136 834 1,709 
			 (1) () A&E attendances Activity at A&E departments is recorded as the number of attendances. It should be noted that an individual person may attend the same or different A&E departments within any given year and therefore this does not represent the number of patients. The data presented includes planned follow-up attendances. (2 ) A&E service providers A provider code is a unique code that identifies an organisation acting as a health care provider (e.g. NHS trust or primary care trust). Data from some independent sector providers, where the onus for arrangement of dataflows is on the commissioner, may be missing. Care must be taken when using this data as the counts may be lower than true figures. (3 ) Provisional data The data is provisional and may be incomplete or contain errors for which no adjustments have yet been made. Counts produced from provisional data are likely to be lower than those generated for the same period in the final dataset. This shortfall will be most pronounced in the final month of the latest period, i.e. November from the (month nine) April to November extract. It is also probable that clinical data are not complete, which may in particular affect the last two months of any given period. There may also be errors due to coding inconsistencies that have not yet been investigated and corrected. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Dorset

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were brought to the Accident and Emergency Department at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital by the emergency services in each of the last six months for which figures are available; and how many such patients were admitted (a) between 10.00 pm and 8.00 am and (b) at weekends.

Anna Soubry: Information is not available in the format requested.
	The following table shows the count of (i) attendances(1) to accident and emergency (A&E) for The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust(2), (ii) attendances between 10pm and 8am, and (iii) attendances at weekends, that arrived by ambulance (including helicopter/air ambulance) for the period February to July 2012, it should be noted that this data is provisional(3).
	
		
			 Activity in English NHS hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			  Total attendances Attendances between 10pm and 8am Weekend attendances 
			 February 572 202 180 
			 March 596 184 209 
			 April 525 174 176 
			 May 515 174 154 
			 June 474 159 177 
			 July 501 169 165 
			 (1 ) A&E attendances Activity at A&E departments is recorded as the number of attendances. It should be noted that an individual person may attend the same or different A&E departments within any given year and therefore this does not represent the number of patients. The data presented includes planned follow-up attendances. (2 ) A&E service providersA provider code is a unique code that identifies an organisation acting as a health care provider (e.g. NHS trust or primary care trust). Data from some independent sector providers, where the onus for arrangement of dataflows is on the commissioner, may be missing. Care must be taken when using this data as the counts may be lower than true figures. (3 ) Provisional data The data is provisional and may be incomplete or contain errors for which no adjustments have yet been made. Counts produced from provisional data are likely to be lower than those generated for the same period in the final dataset. This shortfall will be most pronounced in the final month of the latest period, i.e. November from the (month nine) April to November extract. It is also probable that clinical data are not complete, which may in particular affect the last two months of any given period. There may also be errors due to coding inconsistencies that have not yet been investigated and corrected. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Dorset

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were brought to the Accident and Emergency Department at Poole General Hospital by the emergency services in each of the last six months for which figures are available; and how many such patients were admitted (a) between 10.00 pm and 8.00 am and (b) at weekends.

Anna Soubry: Information is not available in the format requested. The following table shows the count of (i) attendances(1) to accident and emergency (A&E) for Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust(2), (ii) attendances between 10 pm and 8 am, and (iii) attendances at weekends, that arrived by ambulance (including helicopter/air ambulance) for the period February to July 2012. It should be noted that these data are provisional(3).
	
		
			 Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			  Total attendances Attendances between 10 pm and 8 am All weekend attendances 
			 February 1,580 476 469 
			 March 1,716 487 542 
			 April 1,594 477 519 
		
	
	
		
			 May 1,703 515 511 
			 June 1,611 512 543 
			 July 1,688 522 549 
			 (1) A&E attendances Activity at A&E departments is recorded as the number of attendances. It should be noted that an individual person may attend the same or different A&E departments within any given year and therefore this does not represent the number of patients. The data presented include planned follow-up attendances. (2) A&E service providers A provider code is a unique code that identifies an organisation acting as a health care provider (e.g. NHS Trust or primary care trust). Data from some independent sector providers, where the onus for arrangement of data flows is on the commissioner, may be missing. Care must be taken when using these data as the counts may be lower than true figures. (3) Provisional data The data are provisional and may be incomplete or contain errors for which no adjustments have yet been made. Counts produced from provisional data are likely to be lower than those generated for the same period in the final dataset. This shortfall will be most pronounced in the final month of the latest period, i.e. November from the (month nine) April to November extract. It is also probable that clinical data are not complete, which may in particular affect the last two months of any given period. There may also be errors due to coding inconsistencies that have not yet been investigated and corrected. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

Clinical Commissioning Groups

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has issued guidelines developed to ensure that the commissioning awards made by clinical commissioning groups are adequately scrutinised by (a) local authorities and (b) his Department.

Anna Soubry: The Department has recently consulted on draft proposals regarding the procurement rules that clinical commissioning groups would be subject to from April 2013. These included that commissioners must act transparently and without discrimination. These requirements would be enforced by the sector regulator; Monitor.
	Local authorities also have the power to review any matter relating to the planning, provision and operation of health services in their area and, from April 2013, this will include the power to scrutinise the work of clinical commissioning groups.

Dementia

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2012, Official Report, column 38W, on dementia, if he will commission the Health and Social Care Information Centre to produce an estimate of the number of lives saved.

Norman Lamb: The Department does not intend to commission the Health and Social Care Information Centre to produce this information. It is not currently possible to obtain information about severity of dementia at point of prescription from general practitioner records and so to fairly compare survival in patients who had a prescription of antipsychotic drugs with those who did not. The Health and Social Care Information Centre is therefore currently unable to calculate an estimate of the number of lives saved.

Dermatology

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the adequacy of dermatology training for GPs in relation to the level of patient demand.

Daniel Poulter: The content and standard of medical training is the responsibility of the General Medical Council (GMC) which is the competent authority for postgraduate medical training in the United Kingdom.
	The GMC is committed to ensuring high quality patient care delivered by high quality health professionals and that health care professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to deal with the problems and conditions they will encounter in practice.
	The content of the general practitioner (GP) training curriculum is developed by the Royal College of General Practitioners for approval by the GMC. The GP curriculum includes a section on skin problems. Doctors completing GP training are assessed against all elements in the GP curriculum and should be competent to deliver care against all the competencies described.
	While it is not practicable or desirable for the Government to prescribe the exact training that any individual doctor will receive we are, of course, aware of the need to ensure perceived areas of weakness in training curricula are addressed. For that reason, we are liaising with the GMC and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges about how best to ensure curricula do meet requirements and patient demand. The Department has also provided a supporting role in the development of the standards contained in ‘Quality Standards for Dermatology—Providing the right care for people with skin conditions, recently initiated by the British Association of Dermatologists.

Diabetes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to prevent diabetes through the new NHS Commissioning Board mandate.

Anna Soubry: The mandate focuses on the overall outcomes—helping people live healthier, for longer, with a better quality of life. The NHS Outcomes Framework will be the main way of measuring progress against objectives set out in the mandate; diabetes is covered by domain two (Enhancing the quality of life for people with long-term conditions) of the Outcomes Framework. This domain takes a generic rather than condition specific approach to improving outcomes for people with long term conditions.

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to ensure that individuals with intractable drug dependence are not excluded from participation in the eight payment by results for recovery pilot programmes.

Anna Soubry: As set out in the NHS Constitution, access to services continues to be based on clinical need. The formula used by the Department for allocating funding for drug treatment pays more to those local areas which have greater success in attracting people into effective drug treatment and supporting their recovery. In addition, in the eight areas piloting Payment by Results for Drug and Alcohol Recovery, local commissioners pay more for the most difficult cases.

Food: Hygiene

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken as part of its risk assessment regime to ensure that breaches of food standards are reported to the Care Quality Commission by environmental health officers.

Anna Soubry: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) advises that local authority environmental health officers (EHOs) will actively collaborate with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) where necessary to ensure good practice. If there are severe or persistence cases of non compliance relating to care services, local authorities should bring this to the attention of the CQC.
	We have also been advised by FSA that it will shortly be issuing guidance for local authority EHOs, clarifying official roles and responsibilities in the area of food provision in care services and the importance of effective communication in relation to cases where non compliance is identified. The guidance will include input from the CQC.
	In addition the CQC's own requirements include a requirement, where food and hydration are provided as part of the activity, to ensure that service users are protected from the risk of inadequate nutrition and hydration. The CQC can take enforcement action where the requirement is not met.

Hospital Beds

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many NHS hospital beds there are in England; and how many of those beds are in single rooms;
	(2)  how many hospital beds the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust has; and how many such beds are in single rooms.

Daniel Poulter: The national health service provides data to the Department annually relating to:
	the annual average daily number of patient beds available; and
	the number of those beds that are single bedrooms for patients.
	This data is collected through the Estates Returns Information Collection, and the relevant data for the latest available period, 2011-12, is provided in the table.
	
		
			  England Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust 
			 Number of available beds 148,798 735 
			 Number of available beds that are single bedrooms 55,863 287 
		
	
	The data provided has been supplied by the NHS and has not been amended centrally.
	The accuracy and completeness of the information is the responsibility of the provider organisation.

Hospitals

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the recommendations of the Royal College of Surgeons that general hospitals should serve a population of at least 500,000 to maximise patient safety.

Daniel Poulter: The configuration of front line health services is a matter for the local national health service. Services should be tailored to meet the needs of the local population.

Incontinence

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether the contracts awarded to Any Qualified Provider for continence care stipulate that the service provider should ensure the same or higher standards of care as that previously provided;
	(2)  what mechanism exists to monitor and audit the continence services provided under Any Qualified Provider rules;
	(3)  when the National Audit for Continence Care will be published;
	(4)  which stakeholders will be involved in the National Audit for Continence Care;
	(5)  whether the NHS Commissioning Board will be involved in the preparation of the National Audit for Continence Care.

Anna Soubry: All providers qualifying to provide continence services under Any Qualified Provider will be required to agree to the terms and conditions of the NHS Standard Contract. To qualify, providers will need to demonstrate that they meet robust criteria assessing quality as determined by commissioners.
	All providers awarded contracts under Any Qualified Provider will have their continence services monitored through normal contract management arrangements. Providers qualified to provide continence services under Any Qualified Provider will be reviewed annually.
	The last national report of the ‘National Audit of Continence Care: Combined Organisational and Clinical Report’ was published in September 2010 and is available at:
	www.hqip.org.uk/assets/Guidance/FULL-COMBINED-organisational-and-clinical-report-2-09-10.pdf
	Further work has since been carried out to evaluate the 2010 audit, through seeking feedback from audit participants and the completion of a pilot audit to incorporate suggested changes. The report ‘Capturing patients' experience of NHS continence services: pilot phase evaluation report’ is available at:
	www.hqip.org.uk/assets/NCAPOP-Library/NCAPOP-2012-13/Continence-pilot-audit-on-patients-experience-published-Aug-2012.pdf
	A second pilot audit was also conducted on the feasibility of capturing information directly from patients on their experience of the continence care they received. Reports from both of the pilot audit were published in August this year. This report, National audit of continence care: Pilot audit evaluation report’, is available at:
	www.hqip.org.uk/assets/NCAPOP-Library/NCAPOP-2012-13/Continence-pilot-audit-evaluation-report-published-Aug-2012.pdf
	The results from the pilot audits will help to inform the commissioning of any further national audit required for continence care. A range of stakeholders will be consulted prior to commissioning a further national audit including patient representatives, clinical experts and experts in quality improvement methodology.
	From April 2013, the NHS Commissioning Board will fund the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme and will be responsible for setting its strategic direction.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence Quality Standard for Crohn's disease will be published.

Norman Lamb: We have asked the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to develop a Quality Standard on Crohn's disease as part of a library of approximately 180 NHS Quality Standards. NICE has not yet published a time scale for the development of this Quality Standard. The NHS Commissioning Board, who will be responsible for the strategic direction of NHS Quality Standards from April 2013, have begun discussions with NICE to determine the most appropriate sequencing for NHS Quality Standards to assist the Board in improving outcomes across the five domains of the NHS Outcomes Framework.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to the economy of sick leave and work-related disability for people with inflammatory bowel disease.

Norman Lamb: The Department is not aware of any information which could be used to estimate the costs to the economy due specifically to inflammatory bowel disease. According to information from the Labour Force Survey, gastrointestinal diseases (including inflammatory bowel disease) were responsible in 2011 for about 10.3 million days of sickness absence out of a total of 131 million days from all conditions. The independent review of sickness absence “Health at work”, published in November 2011, estimated that the cost to the United Kingdom economy of sickness absence from all conditions was around £15 billion.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Worcestershire

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been diagnosed with (a) Crohn's disease or (b) ulcerative colitis in Redditch and Bromsgrove Primary Care Trust in each of the last five years.

Norman Lamb: Information is not available in the exact form requested. Information on completed spells of hospital inpatient treatment for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in Worcestershire Primary Care Trust, the successor body to Redditch and Bromsgrove Primary Care Trust, is given in the following table.
	
		
			 Count of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) (1)  with a named primary or secondary diagnosis of (a) Crohn's disease or (b) ulcerative colitis (2)  in Worcestershire PCT of residence (3)  for the years 2007-08 to 2011-12 (4) 
			 Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			  Crohn's Disease Ulcerative Colitis 
			 2007-08 768 636 
			 2008-09 838 657 
			 2009-10 955 803 
			 2010-11 1,084 864 
			 2011-12 1,185 994 
			 (1 )Finished Consultant Episode (FCE) A finished consultant episode (FCE) is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year. (2 )Number of episodes in which the patient had a (named) primary or secondary diagnosis The number of episodes where this diagnosis was recorded in any of the 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) primary and secondary diagnosis fields in a Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) record. Each episode is only counted once, even if the diagnosis is recorded in more than one diagnosis field of the record. ICD-10 Codes used: K50—Crohn's disease K5l—Ulcerative colitis (3 )PCT of residence The primary care trust (PCT) containing the patient's normal home address. This does not necessarily reflect where the patient was treated as they may have travelled to another PCT for treatment. A change in methodology in 2011-12 resulted in an increase in the number of records where the PCT or strategic health authority (SHA) of residence was unknown. From 2006-07 to 2010-11 the current PCT and SHA of residence fields were populated from the recorded patient postcode. In order to improve data completeness, if the postcode was unknown the PCT, SHA and country of residence were populated from the PCT/SHA value supplied by the provider. From April 2011-12 onwards if the patient postcode is unknown the PCT, SHA and country of residence are listed as unknown. (4 )Assessing growth through time HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, changes in activity may be due to changes in the provision of care. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Maternity Services: Dorset

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the NHS was of the maternity unit at (a) the Royal Bournemouth Hospital and (b) Poole General Hospital in each of the last three years.

Daniel Poulter: The cost to national health service commissioners of specific maternity units is not reported separately to the Department.
	However, using data returned as part of the national annual reference cost collection it is possible to estimate the cost to The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust of providing maternity services. These costs may overestimate the cost of the maternity unit as some of the reported costs may relate to community-based activity rather than activity undertaken in the maternity units.
	The following table shows reference costs reported by The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust for the last three years for all activity reported against obstetrics health care resource groups and maternity-related out-patient attendances:
	
		
			 Total cost (£000) 
			  2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 2,409 2,195 3,292 
			 Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 11,778 14,470 14,206 
			 Notes: 1. Costs include all health care resource groups in Chapter N—Obstetrics—regardless of setting. 2. Costs include Obstetrics, Midwife Episodes and Ante-Natal Ultrasound out-patient attendances. Source: Published Reference Costs, 2009-10 to 2011-12.

NHS Foundation Trusts: Pay

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department issues guidance to NHS foundation trusts on setting the level of remuneration of chief executives, directors and non-executive directors of such trusts relative to their annual turnover.

Anna Soubry: The Department does not issue such guidance. National health service foundation trusts have freedom to make their own decisions about matters such as appointments and remuneration. Under schedule 7 of the National Health Service Act 2006, it is for foundation trusts to determine the remuneration for each of the members of their board of directors, both executive and non-executive. Monitor has issued a code of governance to foundation trusts which advises that levels of remuneration should be sufficient to attract, retain and motivate directors of the quality required to run the organisation successfully, but that a foundation trust should avoid paying more than is necessary for this purpose.

School Milk

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding his Department has claimed for the nursery milk scheme from (a) the Rural Payments Agency and (b) the EU in each of the last 10 financial years.

Daniel Poulter: The Department could not claim EU milk subsidy for the Nursery Milk Scheme prior to 2008. However in 2008 when the new EU rules were extended to cover early years settings and secondary schools, the Department submitted claims for the EU milk subsidy on behalf of child care providers claiming under the Nursery Milk Scheme. From October 2008 to April 2010, the Department claimed a total of £2,641,271.08 from the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) for nursery milk claims. No claims were made beyond this period and the Department was asked to return this amount to the RPA as a routine EU audit revealed that some child care providers were not fully compliant with the EU regulations.
	Individual child care settings can claim the EU subsidy for the milk they provide to the under-fives in their care. However should they do so, then this amount must be deducted from any claim for reimbursement which they make to the Nursery Milk Scheme.

School Milk

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much of the increased cost of the nursery milk scheme in the last five years is due to an increased number of children receiving milk.

Daniel Poulter: The Department does not hold information centrally on the number of individual children who have received free nursery milk. The following table shows increased cost of the Nursery Milk Scheme based on the total number of pints reimbursed in each of the last five years.
	
		
			  2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Volume of milk (pints) 68,702,222 73,311,952 72,570,382 87,324,376 90,589,766 
			 Total Nursery Milk Scheme cost (£) 27,141,395 31,197,449 40,296,869 52,775,582 58,560,633 
			 Average price claimed per pint (£) 0.40 0.43 0.56 0.60 0.65 
		
	
	If we assume the increases in milk supplied are because more children are taking part in the scheme, then this factor accounts for a 28% rise in the cost of the scheme. However if some of the rise in supply is due to the same children receiving more milk, because, for example, they attend child care for more days each week, then this percentage will be lower.

School Milk

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish his Department's assessment of the effect of the proposed changes to the nursery milk scheme on small and medium-sized enterprises.

Daniel Poulter: The Government remains committed to the continuation of the Nursery Milk Scheme. However, as a part of the process of reviewing the operation of the scheme, the Department will be assessing the impact of the proposed changes on business including small and medium-sized enterprises. The data gathered during the consultation process will inform this assessment, which will be included in the final impact assessment to be published in 2013.

Skin Cancer

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department will audit adherence by GPs to (a) NICE guidance that states that all patients with suspicious lesions must be immediately referred to the local specialist multi-disciplinary team and (b) other NICE guidance for the management of melanoma in primary care as outlined in Improving Outcomes for People with Skin Tumours including Melanoma.

Anna Soubry: Through the National Cancer Peer Review Programme, peer review measures for skin cancer, including melanoma, are supporting the national health service to evaluate skin cancer services and to drive improvement across the service.
	The measures against which skin cancer services are assessed reflect the best practice guidance set out in National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) clinical guidelines, such as “Improving Outcomes for People with Skin Tumours including Melanoma”.
	The development of cancer peer review measures is an ongoing process in order that they reflect new NICE Quality Standards and clinical guidelines and revisions to existing NICE guidance.

Sports: Medicine

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will make it his policy that sports therapists should be statutorily regulated;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with the Health and Care Professional Council on the statutory regulation of sports therapists;
	(3)  what recent discussions he has had with the Society of Sports Therapists on the regulation of sports therapists.

Daniel Poulter: The Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt) has had no recent discussion with the Society of Sports Therapists or the Health and Care Professions Council relevant to the regulation of sports therapists.
	The Health and Social Care Act 2012 provides for the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence, which is to be renamed the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA), to quality assure voluntary registers of unregulated health care professionals and health care workers in the United Kingdom, social care workers in England, and certain students.
	The Government's view is that for the overwhelming majority of occupational and professional groups, which are not currently subject to statutory regulation, such as sports therapists, that assured voluntary registration is the preferred option.
	A system of assured voluntary registration would allow employers and people who use services to assure themselves that individual practitioners meet high standards of training, conduct and competence, and at all times apply high ethical standards to their work, without placing an undue regulatory burden on practitioners or taxpayers.

Sports: Medicine

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to ensure that sports therapists have appropriate levels of training to deal safely with the public.

Daniel Poulter: For practitioner roles such as sports therapists, which are not regulated by a professional regulatory body, it is the responsibility of the health service provider to ensure their staff have the appropriate levels of training to safely deal with the challenges they encounter in practice.
	We believe that local health care providers are best placed to determine the training needs for their sports therapist workforce. To ensure standards remain high local managers work in conjunction with education providers and skills networks to guarantee their sports therapist training programmes meet local service need.

Urinary System: Infectious Diseases

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate his Department has made of the proportion of urinary tract infections occurring in NHS hospitals that are associated with urinary catheters.

Daniel Poulter: The Department has not conducted a recent estimate of the proportion of urinary tract infections occurring in national health service hospitals that are associated with urinary catheters. However, the Health Protection Agency's English National Point Prevalence Survey in 2011 on health care associated infections and antimicrobial use suggest that 43% of those patients with a urinary tract infection had a urinary catheter in place in the previous seven days before the onset of the infection.

Urinary System: Infectious Diseases

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of antibiotics prescribed to in-patients was associated with urinary tract infections in the latest period for which figures are available.

Daniel Poulter: Information on what proportion of antibiotics prescribed to in-patients was associated with urinary tract infection is not collected routinely. The Health Protection Agency's Point Prevalence Survey conducted in 2011 measured antibiotic usage nationally and provided a snapshot of the number of patients prescribed antibiotics, including those prescribed for urinary tract infections in acute trusts in England. In this survey, 13.7% of antibiotics were prescribed for urinary tract infections as indicated in the medical records.
	[Continued in Column135W]

Atos Healthcare

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the Answer of 11 October 2011, Official Report, columns 344-5W, on Atos Healthcare: manpower, how many Stream 2 referrals of Atos-approved healthcare professionals have been made by the General Medical Council.

Mark Hoban: Atos Healthcare has received 26 Stream 2 referrals from the GMC during the past six months of 2012 in respect of the DWP contract. It should be noted that a Stream 2 referral relates to cases where the GMC would not consider that the allegations, even if proven, would require them to take formal action. They are referred to the doctor's employer or contracting body so that they can consider what action, if any, they should take.

Carer's Allowance

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the evidential basis is for the Government's conclusion that there will be no reduction in the number of claimants of carers allowance following the introduction of the personal independence payment.

Esther McVey: The available information on the impact of PIP on carer's allowance is published in the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Impact Assessment (May 2012). The impact on carer's is covered in paragraphs 23 to 26. This can be found on the Department's website at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/dla-reform-wr2011-ia.pdf
	The conclusion in paragraph 26 was based on modelling carried out by the Department's analysts. This was based on administrative data combined with outputs from a voluntary sample of existing DLA recipients upon whom the PIP assessment process was trialled. More information about PIP assessment process trial can be found in chapter 4 of the “Personal Independence Payment: assessment thresholds and consultation.” This can be found on the Department's website at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/pip-assessment-thresholds-and-consultation.pdf

Children

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  in what proportion of families with dependent children there is a drug or alcohol dependent parent or guardian;
	(2)  in what proportion of households with dependent children with an income of less than 60 per cent of median incomes there is a drug or alcohol dependent parent or guardian;
	(3)  in what proportion of out of work households with dependent children there is a drug or alcohol dependent parent or guardian.

Esther McVey: The Department for Work and Pensions does not have this information in the form in which it has been requested. However, we are currently looking at opportunities to expand our knowledge of disadvantaged groups through sharing information and data with other Government Departments and agencies.
	We recognise that drug and alcohol addiction is one of the most damaging root causes of poverty. Helping people to tackle their dependency on drugs or alcohol so that they can recover and find employment is a top priority for the Government.

Children: Maintenance

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of applications to the Child Support Agency were from parents with care on out-of-work means-tested benefit in the last quarter for which figures are available.

Steve Webb: The following table shows the number, and proportion, of new applications made to the Child Support Agency, and of these, where the parent with care is in receipt of income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance.
	
		
			  Applications 
			 Number of new applications made to the Child Support Agency 27,300 
			 Number of these applications where the parent with care is in receipt of income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance 8,100 
			 Percentage of cases 30 
			 Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100 and percentages to the nearest whole percent. 2. Figures exclude cases administered off system. 3. Benefit figures are sourced from DWP administrative benefit systems. The latest available information is at February 2012. 4. In the above analysis, a parent with care is deemed to be in receipt of benefit if he/she or his/her partner are on income support or jobseeker's allowance (income based). However, cases on the old computer system cannot be matched against partner's benefit status. Therefore, these partners are excluded. 
		
	
	These figures do not include cases where the parent with care is in receipt of employment and support allowance. Including this would require significant analysis which would be at disproportionate cost.

Children: Maintenance

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of (a) current scheme and (b) old scheme cases within the Child Support Agency with a calculation/assessment and payment schedule concern parents with care who are in receipt of out-of-work means-tested benefits.

Steve Webb: The following table shows the number and proportion of Child Support Agency cases due to pay maintenance where the parent with care is in receipt of income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance.
	
		
			  Old (1993) scheme Current (2003) scheme 
			 Number of cases due to pay maintenance 178,400 668,700 
		
	
	
		
			 Number of cases where the parent with care is in receipt of income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance 23,700 158,400 
			 Percentage of cases 13 24 
			 Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100 and percentages to the nearest whole percent. 2. Figures exclude cases administered off system. 3. Figures exclude nil assessed cases. 4. Benefit figures are sourced from DWP administrative benefit systems. The latest available information is at February 2012. 5. In the above analysis, a parent with care is deemed to be in receipt of benefit if he/she or his/her partner are on income support or jobseeker’s allowance (income based). However, cases on the old computer system cannot be matched against partner's benefit status. Therefore, these partners are excluded. 
		
	
	These figures do not include cases where the parent with care is in receipt of employment and support allowance. Including this would require significant analysis which would be at disproportionate cost.

Children: Maintenance

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of assessed cases within the child support agency under the (a) current scheme and (b) old scheme concern parents with care in receipt of out-of-work means-tested benefits where the non-resident parent is also in receipt of out-of-work benefits.

Steve Webb: The following table shows the number and proportion of live and assessed Child Support Agency cases where the parent with care is in receipt of income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance and the non-resident parent is in receipt of income support, jobseeker's allowance or incapacity benefit.
	
		
			  Old (1993) scheme Current (2003) scheme 
			 Number of live and assessed cases 326,800 782,100 
			 Number of cases where both the parent with care and non-resident parent are in receipt of means-tested benefit(1) 15,500 53,900 
			 Percentage of cases 5 7 
			 (1) Figures exclude cases where the parent with care or non-resident parent is in receipt of employment and support allowance. Including this would require significant analysis which would be at disproportionate cost. Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100 and percentages to the nearest whole percent. 2. Figures exclude cases administered off system. 3. Figures include nil assessed cases. 4. Benefit figures are sourced from DWP administrative benefit systems. The latest available information is at February 2012. 5. In the above analysis, a parent with care is deemed to be in receipt of benefit if he/she or his/her partner are on income support or jobseeker's allowance (income based). Likewise, a non-resident parent is classified as on benefit if he/she or his/her partner is in receipt of income support, jobseeker's allowance or incapacity benefit. However, cases on the old computer system cannot be matched against partner's benefit status. Therefore, these partners are excluded.

Employment and Support Allowance

Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in which geographic areas incapacity benefit claimants are being migrated to the work related activity group for employment and support allowance without undergoing a work capability assessment.

Mark Hoban: When someone claiming incapacity benefits is reassessed for ESA, they will only have to undergo a face-to-face work capability assessment (WCA) if there is insufficient evidence for a paper-based WCA to be carried out.
	Claimants in all geographic areas across the country may be migrated to employment and support allowance without undergoing a face to face assessment.

Employment Schemes: Young People

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many youth contract placements have been started in (a) the UK, (b) each local authority and (c) each ward in each of the last three years; and what proportion of such placements were with smaller employers.

Mark Hoban: The Youth Contract was launched in April 2012. Up to and including May 2012 there were 9,870 work experience and 2,550 sector based work academy starts. We will be placing a copy of the number of starts per local authority area in the House of Commons Library. Starts are not available at ward level, and we do not keep data about employer destinations.

Employment Schemes: Young People

Michael McCann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many wage subsidies have been transferred to businesses under the Youth Contract scheme since its launch;
	(2)  how much has been spent on Youth Contract wage subsidies since the launch of the scheme.

Mark Hoban: The Youth Contract, including wage incentives, went live on April 2012. From this point any young person attached to the Work programme could be placed into work with a wage incentive being offered to the employer.
	From late July 2012, in selected ‘youth unemployment hotspots’, wage incentives became available via Jobcentre Plus to employ eligible 18 to 24-year-olds.
	In most cases the wage incentives element of the Youth Contract are paid after a young person has been in work continuously for 26 weeks. Following the collection and quality assurance of these data, the first set of Official Statistics on the wage incentive should be available from early 2013.

Housing Benefit: Brent

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the number of households in the London borough of Brent who will lose all apart from 50 pence of their current housing benefit award as a result of the household benefit cap; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: Of the 2,500 households estimated to be affected by the benefit cap in Brent local authority around 100 will have their housing benefit reduced to 50p at the point of implementation of the cap.
	The figures presented above are consistent with the recent Impact Assessment published on 16 July 2012. In making these estimates we assume that the situation of these households will go unchanged, and they will not take any steps to either work enough hours to qualify for working tax credit, renegotiate their rent in situ, or find alternative accommodation. In all cases the Department is working to support households through this transition, using existing provision through Jobcentre Plus and the Work programme to move as many into work as possible. Therefore, these figures are subject to change prior to the policy being implemented in April 2013.

Incapacity Benefit: Kilmarnock

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many letters have been sent to incapacity benefit claimants in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency asking them to complete an ESA50 questionnaire in each of the last 12 months.

Mark Hoban: With regard to the number of letters sent to incapacity benefit claimants, neither the Department for Work and Pensions or Atos Healthcare holds this data by constituency area.

Jobcentre Plus

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria his Department uses to assess the effectiveness of each Jobcentre Plus office.

Mark Hoban: DWP monitor the effectiveness of Jobcentre Plus via a range of performance mechanisms, including performance against the Cabinet Office Structural Reform Plan and its own internal Performance Environment. The main measure of Jobcentre Plus performance is the rate at which people leave jobseeker's allowance, income support and employment and support allowance and move into employment. The measure supports the Department for Work and Pensions 2011-15 business plan and the coalition Government's structural reform priorities. The Department provides regular monthly progress and performance reports to the Department and Ministers, and makes performance data available to the public through the DWP website. The Department has also published research on the effectiveness of our offices, which also appears on the DWP website.

Jobcentre Plus

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are employed in Jobcentre Plus offices.

Mark Hoban: Jobcentre Plus was re-structured and absorbed into a revised DWP Operations structure over a year ago and no longer exists as a separate organisation. Under the new DWP Operations structure, the areas that most closely align with Jobcentre Plus in its previous form are the national Jobcentre network delivering a range of face-to-face services, benefits processing offices, contact centres providing telephony services, and operational support offices.
	As at September 2012, which represents the latest date for which published information is available, the number of people in post in the revised structure was 79,958.

Jobseeker's Allowance

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of jobseeker's allowance claimants per job vacancy in (a) Glasgow North West constituency, (b) Glasgow, (c)  Scotland and (d) the UK.

Mark Hoban: The Department is aware of the challenges facing jobseekers in the labour market and has put in place a substantial package of support to help them move into work.
	Jobcentre Plus offers claimants a comprehensive menu of support including help with job search and referral to local skills provision. This is bolstered by a number of Get Britain Working measures including work experience and pre-employment training, volunteering, Work Clubs and support for those looking to start their own businesses.
	The Work programme provides tailored help for those claimants furthest from the labour market. Claimants with more challenging barriers to work can be referred early. Providers are paid on the results they achieve, and are paid more for supporting the hardest to help into sustained work.
	The Youth Contract provides new opportunities for unemployed young people including additional support from Jobcentre Plus; wage incentives for employers recruiting eligible young people; and extra work experience places.
	Additional funding has also being made available to support the most vulnerable 16 and 17-year-olds not in education, employment or training, into learning, an apprenticeship or a job with training.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has considered using post offices for those unable to access the internet at home to make jobseeker's allowance claims.

Mark Hoban: DWP already signposts claimants to a number of providers of internet access, such as local libraries, and welcomes the provision of public internet access by third parties including the Post Office. As we move to more services that are digital by default, we recognise that some of our customers will need assistance. We will ensure that we will give support to those customers either by telephone, online or, in some cases, through face-to-face contact.
	When customers tell us that they do not have access to the internet we inform them of local provision where they can access it for free or at low cost. This includes external partners such as UK Online, but will also cover local organisations such as libraries and community centres. Digital champions in jobcentres, contact centres and benefit centres keep staff informed of the latest provision so any customer who contacts us can be signposted appropriately.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what additional resources he plans to make available to job centres to provide internet access for people who are unable to access the internet at home to access jobseeker's allowance claims.

Mark Hoban: By the end of December 2012, the Internet Access Devices Project will have installed 2,178 internet access devices into 705 jobcentres. There will also be the facility for further sites to apply for them to be installed and for existing sites to increase the number of devices they have.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobseeker's allowance claimants who found employment with the assistance of Job Centre Plus resumed claiming jobseeker's allowance within three months of commencing employment in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) January to October 2012.

Mark Hoban: The information requested is not collated centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

Metals: Theft

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations he has received on the potential safety risk due to theft of copper gas pipes fitted externally to residential properties.

Mark Hoban: The potential safety issue from theft of gas copper pipes has been brought to the attention of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) through a number of routes:
	(a) Through a small number of individual cases being reported to HSE.
	(b) Through discussions with the Energy Networks Association, as part of their campaign on the wider issue of metal theft.
	(c) Via standards committees, including the Meter Asset Managers Code of Practice and British Standards Committee 6891 (Installation of low pressure gas pipework).
	This issue is being addressed as part of a wider Government response on metal theft including from electricity substations and overhead lines. The Government is currently supporting a private Member’s Bill to introduce stronger powers for the licensing and inspection of scrap metal dealers. British Standard 6891 has also been updated to include guidance regarding this risk.

Motability

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the number of people in the north-west of England likely to lose access to motability cars as a result of the replacement of disability living allowance by personal independence payments.

Esther McVey: Personal Independence Payment: Assessment Thresholds and Consultation was published in January 2012. It included early estimates on the likely PIP benefit caseload in 2015-16, compared to the likely working age DLA caseload if the new benefit is not introduced. These estimates, which were based on the second draft of the assessment criteria, have been broken down by each of the rate combinations in the benefits. The assessment criteria for PIP are still being finalised. A Government response to the consultation and a final draft of the criteria will be published later this year.
	We are continuing to work closely with Motability to understand what impact personal independence payment might have on their customer numbers and to ensure they are well placed to manage the introduction of the new benefit.

Motability

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to ensure that people in receipt of the higher rate mobility component of disability living allowance and personal independence payments who have that entitlement removed do not have motability cars removed before any reconsideration of their case has taken place.

Esther McVey: Motability is an independent charity wholly responsible for the administration of the Motability Scheme. While the Department works closely with Motability and facilitates the transfer of benefit to the scheme it is not directly involved in establishing scheme policy or operational issues. This responsibility falls to the Governors and Director of Motability.
	Once payment of the mobility component has stopped, it is Motability's policy to discuss with the customer, on a case by case basis, when the vehicle is to be recovered.

Personal Independence Payment

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the final criteria for the personal independence payment assessments will be published.

Esther McVey: We intend to publish our response to the consultation on the PIP assessment criteria, with the final set of criteria, before the end of this year.

Personal Independence Payment

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many healthcare professionals are expected to be recruited by (a) Atos and (b) Capita to carry out personal independence payment assessments.

Esther McVey: Based on the information DWP provided for the PIP competition, Atos expect to use 750 health professionals in Lot 1 and 650 in Lot 3. Capita expect to use 559 health professionals in Lot 3.
	The majority of the health professionals used by Atos will not be recruited directly but by Atos' sub-contract partners across the health sector.
	The DWP is now working very closely with each provider to agree final numbers. By the end of January 2013, Atos is required to provide confirmation that qualified health professionals are in place for Lot 1. By the end of March 2013, Atos and Capita are required to provide the same confirmation in respect of Lots 3 and 2.

Personal Independence Payment

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what training will be undertaken by (a) Capita and (b) Atos of healthcare professionals recruited to carry out personal independence payment assessments.

Esther McVey: We have set clear requirements on the competencies that heath professionals must demonstrate before they can carry out assessments for personal independence payment and the areas that assessment providers must cover in their training. Any professional not meeting our requirements will not be given approval to carry out assessments.
	Providers are responsible for developing their own training products. We will work with them to support them and ensure that all elements of our training requirements are covered, to the required quality, before signing off on their training plans. This work is currently under way.

Remploy

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what help the Government has given to people formerly employed by Remploy to find alternative work; and how many people have already found alternative work.

Esther McVey: We have put in place a people help and support package (PHSP) for delivering tailored support to those disabled people becoming redundant as a result of the announcements from the Remploy Board. The package offers support to help each affected disabled individual to adjust to life outside of segregated employment and obtain alternative mainstream employment.
	The PHSP is delivered through key partners and stakeholders including Remploy and external providers such as Disabled People's User Led Organisations (DPULO's), employment programme providers, employers and training establishments.
	I can confirm 1188 employees have now left Remploy and 1068 have agreed to participate in the PHSP package. The number of people engaging with PHSP support is increasing, leading to more positive outcomes as 63 people have already found alternative employment and I expect this figure to improve considerably over time.

Remploy

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what information his Department holds on how many of the former workers of Remploy Abertillery made redundant in August 2012 have subsequently secured full-time employment.

Esther McVey: The Abertillery factory closed in mid August. I have checked the latest figures up to and including 26 October and can confirm that no one has yet found employment. To put this in context, there are 20 disabled individuals affected by the Abertillery factory closure. None has indicated they wish to retire and 14 have met with their personal case worker and therefore opted to take up the People Help and Support Package (PHSP).
	The PHSP offers support to help each affected disabled individual to obtain alternative mainstream employment and adjust to life outside of Government funded segregated sheltered employment. It is available to all the 20 disabled individuals at the Abertillery site and is accessed through their personal case worker.

Remploy

Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on which dates Remploy learnt of a product defect affecting their Panther chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear protection suit; and when they issued a product alert.

Esther McVey: Remploy received notification of a concern surrounding an alleged defect in their Panther CBRN suit on 22 January 2010. This prompted an investigation, the outcome of which was the suggestion in February 2010 that the suit be sent for testing before any alert regarding an alleged defect was issued. Various modifications were made to the suit (which became the Panther 10) and the suit was sent for re-testing. The test results were deemed satisfactory.
	Concerns were again raised on 3 November 2011 and following further internal discussion the company issued a precautionary product alert letter to relevant customers notifying them of the concerns raised. The product alert letters were issued at the end of December 2011. Remploy has to date received no claims or complaints from its customers surrounding the protection levels of the Panther suits.

Remploy: Scotland

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many former Remploy employees in Motherwell and Wishaw constituency have found employment since being made redundant in summer 2012.

Esther McVey: The Motherwell factory closed in mid August. I have checked the latest figures up to and including 26 October and can confirm that no one has yet found employment. Twenty disabled individuals are affected by the Motherwell factory closure. Three have indicated that they wish to retire and all have met with their personal care worker and therefore have opted to take up the people help and support package (PHSP).
	PHSP offers support to help each affected disabled individual to obtain alternative mainstream employment and adjust to life outside of Government funded segregated sheltered employment. It is available to all the 20 disabled individuals at the Motherwell site and is accessed through their personal case worker.

Social Security Benefits

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment his Department has made of the number of households in (a) Scotland, (b) each parliamentary constituency and (c) each local authority in Scotland that will be affected by the benefit cap in April 2013.

Mark Hoban: It is estimated that around 2,500 households in Scotland will be affected by the cap in the first year of its implementation (the financial year 2013-14).
	A table showing a breakdown by parliamentary constituency has been placed in the Library and can be found at:
	http://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2012-1587/LibraryDocument125527.pdf
	A table showing a breakdown of the number of households who will be affected, by local authority, was placed in the Library and can be found at:
	http://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2012-1447/LocalAuthoritybreakdownaffectedbybenefitcap.doc
	Please note that in both of the tables household numbers are rounded to the nearest 100. Areas with fewer than 100 households affected are denoted by “..”, as additional disclosure control has been applied to these areas. For this reason, figures will not sum to the total number of households affected in the July 2012 impact assessment for the household benefit cap.
	These estimates assume that the situation of these households will go unchanged, and they will not take any steps to either work enough hours to qualify for working tax credit, renegotiate their rent in situ, or find alternative accommodation. In all cases the Department is working to support households through this transition, using existing provision through Jobcentre Plus and the Work programme to move as many into work as possible. Therefore, please note that these figures are subject to change prior to the policy being implemented from April 2013.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many benefit fraud investigators were employed by (a) his Department and (b) local authorities in each year since 2005-06;
	(2)  how much was spent on employing benefit fraud investigators by (a) his Department and (b) local authorities in each year since 2005-06.

Mark Hoban: The following table shows the total number of staff and the total cost of staff carrying out fraud type activities in DWP since 2006-07. This is the earliest data are available from.
	
		
			 Fraud type activities totals 
			  Costs (£) FTE 
			 2006-07 121,847,995 4,173 
			 2007-08 117,597,358 3,890 
			 2008-09 110,601,616 3,673 
			 2009-10 111,348,187 3,621 
			 2010-11 111,182,553 3,659 
			 2011-12 120,719,864 3,845 
			 Note: We do not collect data for local authorities. Source: The data are extracted from: The JCP ABM Models 06/07, 07/08, 08/09, 09/10, 10/11 and the DWP ABM Operations Model 11/12.

Social Security Benefits: Liverpool

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of how many people in Liverpool, Walton constituency will be affected by the Government's proposed reforms to (a) disability living allowance, (b) social sector under-occupancy, (c) council tax benefit and (d) social fund, and by the proposed budget cap.

Steve Webb: The information is as follows:
	(a) The available information is published in the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Impact Assessment (May 2012). This can be found on the Department's website at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/dla-reform-wr2011-ia.pdf
	Information on current disability living allowance caseloads at a parliamentary constituency level can also be found on the Department's website at:
	http://83.244.183.180/100pc/tabtool.html
	(b) No estimates are available for the social sector under-occupancy measure at parliamentary constituency level. Regional estimates of impacts are provided in the impact assessment at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/social-sector-housing-under-occupation-wr2011-ia.pdf
	(c) Estimates of how many people will be affected by the change from council tax benefit to localised support are not available at a parliamentary constituency level. The number of people affected will depend on the decisions by local authorities about the design of their schemes.
	(d) We do not have any estimates on how many people will be affected by the social fund reforms that are due to take effect from April 2013 at a parliamentary constituency level. As part of the reforms some social fund discretionary payments will be abolished. Funding is being provided for new and better targeted local provision through local authorities in England, and through arrangements made by the Scottish and Welsh Governments. The local provision will be tailored to local circumstance and integrated with other local support services. Local authorities in England are currently finalising the design of their own local schemes including eligibility criteria. This means we are unable to provide any estimates of how many people will be eligible under each local authority scheme.
	In addition universal credit will provide a better service of payments on account, supporting many people in need of short and longer term credit facilities. These necessary reforms simplify the current complex, poorly targeted and remote system, and ensure that support is focused on those who really need it.
	The benefit cap: A table showing a breakdown by parliamentary constituency has been placed in the Library and can be found at:
	http://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2012-1587/LibraryDocument125527.pdf
	The figures presented above are consistent with the recent Impact Assessment published on 16 July 2012. In making these estimates we assume that the situation of these households will go unchanged, and they will not take any steps to either work enough hours to qualify for working tax credit, renegotiate their rent in situ, or find alternative accommodation. In all cases the Department is working to support households through this transition, using existing provision through Jobcentre Plus and the Work programme to move as many into work as possible. Therefore, please note that these figures are subject to change prior to the policy being implemented in April 2013.

Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how his Department plans to respond to the recommendation in the National Audit Office report on contract management of medical services (HC 627) that his Department should tighten performance requirements for medical contractors linked to the quality of medical assessments.

Mark Hoban: The Department welcomes the NAO Review and intends to implement the recommendations that will support the continuous improvement of the contract and performance. The NAO recognised that quality targets have, with only minor exceptions, been consistently achieved and in many cases out performed targets. The Department welcomes this view but will nevertheless review targets with our Contractor to ensure they too reflect our appetite for continuous improvement.

State Retirement Pensions

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners are entitled to a state pension in excess of £140 per week; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: Based on the Department's forecasting models:
	Around 11.5 million individuals were projected to be receiving a state pension in Great Britain in September 2012. Around 5.2 million (around 45%) of these individuals were projected to have a gross state pension amount in excess of £140 a week (in 2012-13 earnings terms).
	The estimates above are for gross state pension amounts which include additional pension rights accrued in private pension schemes during periods of contracting out. They do not include income from means tested benefits.
	Sources:
	The Department's PENSIM2 simulation model November 2012 and DWP Forecasting Division: Budget 2012 medium term caseload forecast. Figures relate to Great Britain only.

Universal Credit

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the effect of levels of broadband access in rural areas on his Department's plans to (a) introduce universal credit and develop online services to jobseekers.

Mark Hoban: The Department has undertaken some general insight to ascertain the levels of internet access and capability among claimants. We are also undertaking some pilots, including some in rural areas using the current jobseeker's allowance online claim facility. These will provide further information on claimants' needs in terms of both access and skills. The trials involve working closely with third party providers of internet access and signposting the internet provision available within jobcentres. The findings of these trials will help shape the provision of online services for both universal credit and job search activities.
	The Department remains committed to providing an excellent customer service to all and will support those with difficulties of access and/or skills and will continue to provide alternative channels where appropriate.

Work Capability Assessment

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make an assessment of implications for his Department's policies of the report entitled The People's Review of the Work Capability Assessment published on 12 November 2012 by the We are Spartacus network.

Mark Hoban: DWP is currently looking at the report and considering if there will be any implications for departmental policy.